Back in the days, being old enough to say that, I was a Star Trek fan. As a child of the 80’s, I was quickly enamoured when I saw the Enterprise D for the first time. Watching it with my older brother Jon in our parents’ house, if I remember correctly, I was probably eating chocolate ice cream. I only bring that up now because one, it’s a good memory and two, Star Trek was known for many memorable lines… One of them even becoming a mantra of sorts. “Live long and prosper” is a great example, and recently got me thinking about a mantra that came to me out of nowhere that I love.
“This is not the headspace I want to embrace.” That’s it. I’ve never been a mantra guy; but I’m happily utilizing those few simple words now when needed. So here’s a few tips in using this one or your own, that I’ve found to help in centering myself.
- What It Means
Headspace, from lexico.com means “time to think clearly or to be free from mental pressures”. Naturally the Google has more definitions, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll stick to that one. And it’s a good one too, as it really pinpoints what the point of this mantra is. Being free from the daily stresses in life is nearly impossible, and can often be out of your control. However, I’ve learned that what you can control is how you react to it. And not wanting to embrace the negative is a great way to do just that.
- When To Say It
If you find yourself a little more aware of a person’s energy than others, this would help if you’re around negative people. Work or school, home or out with friends, you can’t always know who you’re going to be around. You also can’t always anticipate someone’s energy either, even if you know them.
So when you’re near someone embracing their negativity, just find your center and use it. Just the same, if you find yourself going down that route, use it then. To put it simply, the times you could use this are obviously varied. However, in doing so you may find that second of peace which could make all the difference.
And it could also help to associate with a positive memory. Like the one I mentioned above, this makes sense to get your headspace back on track.
- How To Say It
Understand it’s somewhat odd for me to be giving advice on mantra uses. Clearly I’m a new convert, but the synchronicities that led me to this are as such that I feel grateful for doing so. And there are number of ways and words you could emphasize in doing so.
For me, it’s usually the “not” and “embrace” that I’ll emphasize. Like many, I have a few examples of people whose standard operating energy is negative. It could be getting angry over something unimportant, or employing various biases in a vulgar way. Whatever it is, I’ve found this mantra can help you remember that your SOE (Standard Operating Energy) is positive, or doesn’t have to be the opposite.
- In The End
Now full disclosure, I may have been misusing the term mantra when I really meant affirmation. This was just discovered as I stopped writing a moment to research popular mantras, and well, here I am. However, because I believe honesty is the key in helping people, I’m not going to correct this article but instead utilize it as a teaching moment, or something.
See, as someone who doesn’t have a temper, it’s easier for me to navigate away from the negative. And though I’m slightly irked with myself over the potential misuse of terms, guess what just came in handy? “Matty, this is not the headspace I want to embrace.” And yes, evidently I refer to myself in the third person when using mantras… Or affirmations!
When do you find yourself in need of a mood changing mantra/affirmation? Is it because of your own energy or someone else’s? Do you say it a few times to yourself to really embrace the meaning and words? Either way, the hope is that this will help you when you need it the most, much like it did so for me about a minute ago.