My Life-Changing Morning Mantra

Remember who you are.
Remember who you could have been.
Remember, you are just a man.
Remember, you will die one day.

Back in 2020/ 2021, when I was flirting with the idea of pursuing my purpose, these words became a morning mantra for me. I wrote them in my journal almost every day for 18 months.

These four simple lines are permanently ingrained in my psyche and have a whole depth of layered meaning, some of which will always remain personal.

‘Remember who you are’ reminds me to contemplate all the life experiences that have occurred for me to be here, in this moment, with this perspective, doing this work that I feel truly matters.

‘Remember who you could have been’ is my catalyst to think about how my life could be today if certain events had played out differently.

These first two lines help me find gratitude for the events that have shaped me, no matter how painful and ugly many of them might have been.

‘Remember, you are just a man’ is a line inspired by my time as a student of Stoic philosophy. I read about how Marcus Aurelius used to hire someone to stand beside him, hitting him with a palm leaf and speaking the words, ‘you’re just a man’ over and over again as he walked the streets of Rome, receiving adulation from the people.

‘Remember, you will die one day’ was also inspired by the Stoic concept of memento mori, which is meditation upon one's death. The idea of thinking about death will probably be morbid to many. For me, however, it was a beautiful, life-changing process that led me to live more meaningfully, take actionable steps towards my goals, and find deeper layers of gratitude for early-life events I was desperately trying to make peace with.

If you’re starting your personal development journey, I highly recommend not only practicing the concept of memento mori but also developing a simple mantra of your own to carry with you through your life. You might be surprised at what you become through this repetition.

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