My Mantras

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the mantra, given to me by a teacher in middle school, that rings in my mind most often:

“A positive mental attitude is your key to success.”

I mentioned that I had other mantras that ring in my head quite often, and a reader asked me to list them. So I took some time, listened for them to pop into my mind, and made a list.

Here it is:

The mantras that guide me, inspire, and remind me to do better and be better.

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“It’s a town full of losers and I’m pulling out of here to win.” – Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”

“What one man can do, another can do.” – From the 1997 film “The Edge”

“He who avoids complaints invites happiness.” – I couldn’t remember where this one originated, so I had to look it up. Turns out it’s attributed to Abu Bakr, father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. No recollection where I read or was told this mantra, but it’s been in my head since college, and I’ve always liked it a lot. Complainers are the worst, so this one pops into my mind whenever I find myself on the verge of complaining.

“When they said, “Sit down” I stood up.” – Springsteen’s “Growin’ Up”

“Rage against the dying of the light.” – Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night” (I have the entire poem memorized, and I recite it to myself often, but this is the line that returns to me when I feel my effort waning)

“The hard thing and the right thing are usually the same thing.” – Me, spoken by Budo, a character in “Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend”

“Teach ’em.” – Steve Brouse, a colleague who said this to a teacher who was complaining that her students didn’t already know something