For Internet users, passwords have become the keys to our online lives. Every website you want to interact with requires a login and password, so that means having a lot of passwords and the ingenuity to generate them.
How in the world do you create umpteen passwords and commit them to memory?
I myself have over 100 passwords for everything from AWeber to WordPress.com that I use on a regular basis, that should be changed almost as regularly.
According to Microsoft, passwords should be changed every three months. They should contain at least eight letters, have a combination of three upper/lower case letters, punctuation, symbols and numbers. And never use the same password twice. Cyber thieves love it when you do that.
Also, they say not to use dictionary words (as opposed to what, I don’t know) backward spelling, common misspelling and abbreviations, sequences, repetitions, or personal information.
That covers a lot! What is left to use as a password?
Try using a mantra as a password.
Mantras
In various Indian religions, “a mantra is a Sanskrit term for a sound, syllable, word or group of words that are considered to be capable of creating transformation.”
The most famous mantra is “Om,” pronounced “Oooohhhhhhhmmmmmmmm” during meditation. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning
and end of a reading of the Vedas or prior to any prayer.
Mantras are like statements of intention that can be used to focus one’s attention on a particular action or subject. So if you would say a mantra at the start of a reading or prayer, why not use them in passwords when logging in to your WordPress site?
Password Fun
Having a full sentence of positive, intentional and inspirational words to type in before beginning an online task, you will not only focus your attention and intent, you’ll also have a bit of fun.
Mantra passwords like, “Mywritingisawesomein11/13,” or “1053ReadersWillLoveThisToday!” overqualify as strong passwords in an online password checker. Best of all, they’ll put you in a positive mental frame.
If you are logging into a Flickr account try something like: “101photosofIrelandlookgreat!”
A PayPal password might be: “MakingMoreMoneyin2012%.”
An airline frequent flyer account password could reflect your travel bug with: “Gettingaboardfor30days&nights.”
If you change your passwords frequently enough, they can reflect a series of progressions toward a goal like: “500NewSubscribersin12/13.”
For even more fun, you can make your username a question to answer with your password.
You probably want to exclude trendy phrases and cultural references from your matra login or password.
Mantracize your Passwords
There’s a lot you can do with mantra passwords. Reinforce good habits, describe your cat, play with words – it’s all good as a mantra password. Just remember to add caps, numbers and symbols, and the hackers will never be able to crack your code.
And who knows? Mantra passwords could be your ticket to Internet nirvana.
What kind of pattern are your passwords based on? Or, do you prefer randomly generated ones?
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