Read time: 5 minutes.
This is your permission to pause and take a little time for yourself.

It’s there when you open your eyes in the morning. When you make a mistake, it whispers. When you look in the mirror, it comments on what you see. But there can be a slight problem with having an inner monologue… sometimes we start accepting what it says as absolute fact.

Psychologists call this cognitive fusion, and it happens, for example, when your inner voice moves from “I’m worried I may not be capable of this” to, "I'm definitely not capable of this." You begin to experience it less as a passing thought and more as a description of who you are. Eventually, these beliefs can influence your behaviour.

The good news? You can retrain this internal narrative by repeating mantras, an ancient tradition that helps you consciously choose the thoughts you want to practice.

For example, when you find yourself spiraling into catastrophic thinking, pause and say: "This is a chapter. This is not the whole story."

Not every thought is factual. Not every thought is something you have to believe. You break that cycle by telling yourself something different, and not just once or twice, but repeatedly over time.

When you change the way you speak to yourself, you also change what you believe, and ultimately how you behave.

Love,
Jay ❤️

In this episode of On Purpose, I share 4 mantras for the moments we need them most, whether you’re struggling to find hope, learning to trust yourself, or simply trying to feel more present. From a decades-old journal entry written by my grandmother to the surprising origin of Post-it Notes, I explore how a few simple words, repeated daily, can shift the way you see yourself and the life ahead of you.

Remember, I’m in your corner today, tomorrow, and anytime you need a little permission to believe that everything is going to work out.