Best Mantras To Keep You Hanging On When Things Are Shit

[PacificDogwood]

I am supporting a RL friend through some shitty times - no real end in sight

She said the exact same thing I recently saw posted by a battle-experienced, wise MNer :
"Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and keep breathing in and out."

Pace yourself.
Be kind to yourself and look after yourself.
This too shall pass I may have used that one rather a lot in my own head
Que sera, sera.
Let it go.
You cannot change somebody else's behaviour; you can only change your response to it.

I am sure there are many more.

They are all quite trite truisms, but not any less true for all that.

Please add your own - anything at all that kept you hanging on when times were tough and no light at the end of the tunnel was forthcoming.

And I do hope you did come out the other side and don't need your own mantras anymore.

[blueshoes]

It could be much worse
Where to start? Start at the beginning
Baby steps

[Hirvi]

The people who make you cry, aren't the ones worth crying over.

[ShoeJunkie]

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

You cannot save people, you can just love them.

This above all things, to thine own self be true.

[DontGotoRoehampton]

Maya Angelou: 'People forget most of what you say, and most of what you do, but the never forget the way you make them feel'

[Hirvi]

"thoughts are just thoughts. They are often valuable but not reality or you." This has helped me realise that half the things I am stressing about aren't real, haven't happened and maybe won't ever happen.

[Charitybag]

My lovely, wise old Nanna (now deceased) always used to say to me in times of trouble "What is meant for you, won't pass you by".

[GatoradeMeBitch]

It's very basic but the 'Just keep swimming' bit from Finding Nemo always pops into my head when I'm struggling!

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Thinking I'll try to remember yours Hirvi in case it might come in handy for dd one day - has to be good especially for relationship angst?

[monkeywrench]

I have a postcard I bought recently hanging on my kitchen wall. it says....

"Es ist das ENDE der Welt" sagte die Raupe

"Es ist der ANFANG" sagte der Schmetterling

which translates too......

"its the end of the world" said the caterpillar

Its the beginning" said the butterfly

it is all about perspective, and that has helped me a lot, to remember that.

it also includes one of my all time favourite words schmetterling :)

[pumpkinpie5]

I have "it too shall pass" tattooed on my foot - after tough times. The origin of the fable is relevant to me too.

A friend sent me this today which has made me stop and think:

Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings and emotions.

May not be relevant in all situations but a good one to remember.

Xxx

[saveoursouls]

Ah, these are brilliant.
Here's my penny's worth:

"You'd rather be right than be happy" (I am rather guilty of that, at times)
"The wind blows, the mountain is unmoved" (Japanese proverb postcard I had for years up in my room, as a teenager)
"Deep down, he's really superficial" (friend of mine's excellent saying)
"Courage is not always the lion that roars - sometimes it is the little voice that tells you to try again tomorrow" (Buddhist proverb, I think...helped me a lot when I was trying, and failing, to have another child)
"Try to live your life with as few regrets as possible"

I'm sorry about your friend, OP...you sound like the kind of friend everybody would like to have though

[oneowlgirl]

Thank you for this thread - I've a friend who is going through some severe shit so I'll be sending her the link to this .

For me, I have a few:
This too shall pass
Everything's Going to Be Ok (EGBOK)
One step at a time

and when things are really bad,
Just Keep Breathing.

[hooker29]

It could be worse.
Tomorrow is another day.

[PacificDogwood]

I am still reading.

Thank you, all.

Truly

[Havingabeer]

Failure isn't falling down, it's not getting back up again.
I had 3 job interviews on consecutive days. The first two I didn't get and I said this saying to myself on the way to the third. I got the job.

[ZingOfSeven]

not so much a mantra but a lovely thought

"one day someone will hug you so tight that all your broken bits will stick back together"

[Wafflenose]

Mine is just:

Never, ever, ever give up.

It's got me though many a tough time. But I love all the others on here!

[pumpkinpie5]

It's only brave when you're scared. Xx

[Mumzy]

Don't look down at the mud, look up at the stars

[TheScottishPlay]

Be strong enough to stand alone, wise enough to know when you need help and brave enough to ask for it.

All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.

This too shall pass is the ultimate life mantra I think.

[TheOnlyOliviaMumsnet]

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
DOLLY

[AYellowCreation]

Rise above the nonsense of others.

[ZingOfSeven]

the night is darkest just before dawn

[FrancisdeSales]

When you're going through hell, keep going.

You can't have roses without thorns.

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held it's ground.

[dancingwitch]

There will be a solution. There is always a solution. It's just a pity that, at the moment, I don't have a clue what that solution is. But in time I will.

Crying isn't going to help in the long run but a good old sob for a few minutes will at least postpone trying to deal with things properly.

Yes, it is sh** that this is happening. But, I have my health, my family, food, water and an automatic washing machine so, really, how bad can things be?

This is the top trump. Next time you are in the pub with your mates and everyone starts rolling out the anecdotes, you can sit their smugly knowing that, when their mediocre tales dry up, you can play this card and there will be silence and they will wonder why they bothered telling you about their trivial issues.

Things have a way of working out in the end. It would be nice to know how it is going to work out and when the end is but, really, I have no control over any of it so I may as well just go with the flow.

Let's put the kettle on and then deal with it.