Resolutions never work! At least for me they don’t. This year my resolution was to be punctual. Alas, I am still that friend who is always late. As a teenager my resolution was always to lose enough weight to get to 120 lbs. Never have I ever been that weight! Well, maybe when I was … say 11 years old?  If you’re like me, instead of making a resolution for 2016, try making a mantra.

I’m not talking about a meditation mantra. I’m talking about a personal mantra – like your slogan or personal brand. It’s something that you can tell yourself to get you out of a funk and get back into the swing of things. It could be a quote that you love and relate to or it could be a simple string of words.

As you can tell from my website, mine currently is “Poise. Passion. Perseverance”. It reminds me of the kind of person I want to be and it motivates me when I’m feeling down. And as you may have noticed, I like alliterations.  Here is what my mantra means to me.

Poise – I want to be a lady with poise and class, especially since my career path is in a male dominated industry. My dad told me once when I was a little girl that you’ll never see the queen of England swear or cuss and I thought, “Oh wow, I want to be the queen of England!” And I’ve striven to be a lady ever since.

Passion – There was a time in my life when my favourite quote was “Do it with passion or not at all”. I want to be passionate about life and I want to exude passion and enthusiasm in everything that I do. And even if you don’t feel like doing something (like a task at work or some house chore), if you look hard enough, if you look at the big picture, I believe you can find passion in anything that you do.

Perseverance – This reminds me that nothing gets accomplished without hard work and perseverance to continue even when you feel like giving up. You have to work hard and persevere through the tough times to get through school or to get the job you want or to build the business you want. One of my family’s favourite quotes is “nothing worthwhile is ever easy” and I truly, madly, deeply believe it.

So there you have my mantra. Poise, passion, perseverance. I encourage you to come up with your own or to find a quote that you love and can live by for 2016. If you’re afraid of commitment, it doesn’t have to be set in stone. Simply find something that relates to you for now in THIS chapter of your life. My mantra keeps me going. And I’m certain you’ll feel the same way about yours.

If you already have a mantra, please share! As always, thanks for supporting me and my blog 🙂 Until next time!

❤ Isabel