Personal mantra
A quote kept where you will see it before you perform, taped up or written on your gear
One line, chosen for what it does to your head, placed where you cannot miss it: a locker door, a mirror, the side of a shoe, the lock screen. The point is a repeatable cue that pulls attention back to the task and away from critics, nerves or the last mistake. Athletes and speakers tend to pick something about the arena or the work itself. It costs nothing and takes seconds, and its usefulness rests entirely on picking words that mean something to you.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Daniel AmenDoes it
Psychiatrist · Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
First thing on waking he tells himself the day is going to be a great day, then lets his brain go hunting for reasons that is true. He is careful about the label: not a positive thinker, he says, an accurate one, and he cites Jim Collins on the prisoners of war who died expecting to be home by Christmas.
Source: Thirty Minute Mentors: Dr. Daniel Amen“So I have all sorts of little tiny habits. They take me through my day. And the first one is when I wake up in the morning, actually on the top of my to do. And I say to myself, today is going to be a great day. And then my brain finds why that’s going to be true.”
Thirty Minute Mentors: Dr. Daniel Amen (opens in a new tab) · 26 Feb 2021 - LeBron JamesDoes it
Basketball player · NBA all-time leading scorer
Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena passage was still in his locker in 2018, he told Ferriss. He writes it on his shoes before every game. It hit home when he was listening to people he should not have been, and he says it reminds him that people outside the arena cannot judge what happens inside it.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #349 transcript: LeBron James and Mike Mancias - Nick BareDoes it
Hybrid athlete · Bare Performance Nutrition founder
Quit a training run at mile 10 and started walking home, then thought about what quitting would say about him, turned around and finished 19. He wrote 1 MORE on the bill of his hat and posted the photo. His site dates that to January 2019 and says thousands of people now carry the words as a tattoo.
Source: Nick Bare: Go One More“I stopped and thought, "If I quit on this run, what does it say about my character? What else will I quit?" So I kept running. I ran 19 miles that day - one more mile than I had planned.”
Nick Bare: Go One More (opens in a new tab)
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under focus or stress.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Daily meditation
10-20 minutes of formal practice, most days
Backed by 17 of 44 stacks: 13 do it, 1 recommend it, 3 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Deliberate solitude
Regular time with your own thoughts and no other inputs
Backed by 8 of 44 stacks: 6 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily prayer
A fixed time for prayer each morning, before the phone and before the day starts
Backed by 3 of 44 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Chess
Short games used as a mental reset between blocks of demanding work
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Jigsaw puzzles
Thousand-piece puzzles as a screen-free way to switch the mind off
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Quitting social media
Deleting the accounts rather than trying to use them less
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.