Courage. Positivity. Self Worth.

This is the mantra I repeat to myself when things are tough.

When I need to make a hard decision.

When I am out of my comfort zone.

When I am reaching for that next goal.

When I am facing something I've been avoiding.

When an opportunity arises that is fun, but scares me.

When my negative self talk starts to rear its ugly head.

When I have to stand up to someone.

Courage. Positivity. Self Worth.

If I find myself in any of the above circumstances, I remind myself of this mantra and the decision is usually simplified in an instant. I encourage you to find your own mantra. Something quick and simple that will easily come to mind for you when you are faced with similar situations.

I'll break down how this came to be for me.

Courage is my word of 2019. You can watch a video here to see why I chose that and then you can watch this video to get advice on how to choose your own word that will best suit you.

Self Worth and Positivity were the results of taking a test while reading Brene Brown's Dare to Lead.

In it she talks about narrowing down your values to just two. TWO! This was a very difficult exercise but incredibly enlightening and helpful to me. She provides a list here of values to get your mind going but you can add any others that you like. The idea is that whenever you are uncomfortable or having a tough time making a decision, you come back to those two values to see if they are in alignment. I cannot recommend reading this book enough and getting her full explanation of the exercise. It was easily one of my favourites of 2018.

Let me tell you, it works. These three words probably won't be yours but I highly encourage you to do the work and find your own. We all deserve clarity and the ability to make decisions for ourselves. This tactic takes the guesswork out of things and helps me curb my chronic over-thinking. Life is busy and stressful enough. This mantra quickly helps me check myself with reassurance and some peace. I'd love to know yours!

oxox Mare