8 ms·
Ask HN: What's Your Personal Motto?
Do you have a personal motto and what it is?
> While our immediate problems tend to distract us in everyday life, having a mantra can help us stay in touch with our deepest goals. Mottos ultimately can do many things, such as increase your productivity, inspire you, or help you change a habit. [1]
[1] 9 Reasons You Need a Personal Motto, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201508/9-reasons-you-need-personal-motto
- troydavis 4y agoEverything is an experiment.
- amohajerani 4y agoThat is very thought provoking.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- h2odragon 4y agoShit Happens. All philosophy boils down to those two words in the end.
- juanci_to 4y agoI tend to say this in Spanish as "Cosas que pasan", which can be translated as "Things that happen". It's similar to French expression "C'est la vie" Edit: of course that I use it mostly when something bad happens, something that's maybe unlikely but possible. That's when I tell my peers «these are things that happen». Like, after a robbery or something. Son cosas que pasan
- dossy 4y agoI don't know who to attribute this to, but these certainly aren't my words, but they have been the words to help me re-center myself when I'm having "one of those moments" and my lizard brain is running the show: "It all works out in the end, and in the end, we're all dead."
- bartchamdo 4y ago“This too shall pass” -Abraham Lincoln
- giaour 4y agoIsn't this quote from Rumi?
- bartchamdo 4y agoI googled it and https://dailystoic.com/this-too-shall-pass/ https://dailystoic.com/this-too-shall-pass/
- giaour 4y agoI think it may be one of those quotes that always has an earlier usage to find. According to https://thecritic.co.uk/this-too-shall-pass/ https://thecritic.co.uk/this-too-shall-pass/, Lincoln was quoting Rumi, who was (probably apocryphally) quoting Solomon.
- tamaharbor 4y agoNo matter what, you usually still have the hardware.
- juanci_to 4y agoI like this one
- amar-laksh 4y agoLife is to be lived once, forever.
- jokab 4y agoYolo
- aeroplanetext 4y agoIt ain’t easy bein’ cool. (But someone’s gotta do it).
- VGltZUNvbnN1 4y agoArmor fati. In our age of digital Devices and social media, we are used to having instant access to information and news. This can be a good thing, but it can also lead to information overload and anxiety. The constant stream of alerts and notifications can make it difficult to focus, and we can become bombarded with so much information that it becomes difficult to process it all. The Latin phrase "armor fati" means "to armor oneself against fate." In other words, it means to be prepared for the worst. This is a good mindset to have in our fast-paced, constantly-connected world. We should take the time to step back and assess the situation, rather than blindly following the latest news cycle. Of course, this is not to say that we should live in fear or ignore the news altogether. But we should be mindful of how much information we consume, and make sure that we are taking the time to process it all. Otherwise, we may find ourselves overwhelmed and bogged down by the constant deluge of information.
- robbiejs 4y agoAt first I thought you misspelled "amor fati" which means "Love your Fate", popularized by Nietzsche. For me this phrase helps me look at my childhood (trauma) and my more recent life choices, in a positive way. Something like "things happen for a reason" or "what does't kill you makes you stronger". I like yours too. Wise words.
- cfcosta 4y agoAmor fati, momento mori and "this soon will also pass" are the three phrases I think about constantly. Helps keeping me grounded on good times, and hopeful on bad ones.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- version_five 4y agoWalk down, fuck them all. I know it's a cliche (maybe "slow and steady wins the race" is more PC, but it's not as motivating), but it's a helpful reminder when getting too excited about something. (I don't really have a "motto", this is a good mantra though) Edit: also, "if you dislike change, you'll like irrelevance even less" - General Shinseki, US Army And "If you don't lie, you never have to remember anything" - attributed to Mark Twain
- VoodooJuJu 4y agoDoes it have to be an original personal motto? Here's an unoriginal one that's entered my mind almost daily for a while now: "If the world hates you, remember it hated me [Christ] first."
- version_five 4y ago"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" is another good biblical one
- mongro1 4y ago"It's on the list"
- tomlockwood 4y agoI'm not really a fan of stoicism but I read this quote when I was a kid and it has stuck with me: "The noblest kind of retribution is to not become like your enemy" Marcus Aurelius
- jgbmlg 4y agoAvoiding stupidity is easier than trying to be brilliant.
- gjf 4y agoStrength with empathy
- kyoob 4y ago“I hope he gets where he’s going.” Said when a maniac flies by me on the highway. (the whispered “hell” after that sentence is understood.)
- reqqqles 4y agoI don't speak for all maniacs flying by you, but when I did this back when I owned a motorcycle, on some level I was also hoping for that.
- ldx1024 4y ago"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin
- speg 4y ago“It’s not as bad as it seems.”
- MerelyMortal 4y agoBe Prepared (I borrowed this one.)
- lolmanwhat 4y ago"Be stupid" I realized that super-dumb and super-smart people often get to the same conclusions. So often times, when I find myself stuck, I remind myself to think stupid before making a decision.
- iszomer 4y agoWhatever goes around, comes around.
- YourGrace 4y agoIt is what it is.
- u2077 4y agoNo, but I have 2 saying I like: Move fast and break things. Prove them wrong.
- gardenmwm 4y agoI’ve been a believer in move fast and break things for most of my life, but I’ve found as I have moved into larger roles, the fear of others of breaking things has led to stagnation. I’m still trying to find a better saying to assure people that failure isn’t the end, but only a beginning, and that there is always an appropriate time for failure.
- gardenmwm 4y agoMine is “This to shall pass”. Like the old king, I’ve found it keeps me humble in the good times, and hopeful in the bad.
- kderbyma 4y agoone of them is 'Think strong, be strong'
- burner556 4y agoGood times and good vibes
- Group_B 4y agoIt’s not who you know, it’s who you blow
- branon 4y agoMemento Mori
- leashless 4y ago"If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." A crappy prototype is better than an idea. A three day vacation you take is better than a week only planned. It's a series of small steps.
- leashless 4y agoPair with the secret of inhuman productivity: if the first 80% of the job takes 20% of the effort, you can do the first 80% of five different things for 400% output. By then you know what's worth really investing in finishing and you can focus down having mapped out a lot of options first.
- casion 4y agoThink first, and don't break things.
- br377 4y ago90% of the time, nothing is the right thing to do
- pianoraptor 4y agoNo such thing as free time No such thing as down time No such thing as free time All you have is life time. - Henry Rollins I run a cybersecurity firm and have lots of prioritizing of my time. I live by this motto.
- livinglist 4y agoplay hard, work harder.
- 8note 4y agoYou can do better than that
- swat535 4y agoI've always loved Søren Kierkegaard (especially Aesthetic)[0]: Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_S%C3%B8ren_Kierk... [EDIT] It looks I am being downvoted, so I am adding more details for those confused: This is written from the point of view of the Aesthete, someone who lives entirely for pleasure. From the point of view of pleasure, each decision is a missed opportunity for a different kind of pleasure. You'll find some pleasure in marrying, but you'll miss out on some other pleasures by doing so. Due to this, every choice is meaningless and thus cause for regret. Kierkegaard paints this as being very different from decisions made in the ethical realm. Once in the ethical, we choose based on certain principles, and those principles guide us to do what is right. In that scenario our choices become meaningful and we are no longer plagued with regret, for even if there was pleasure in the other option, we did what was good, and thus we are satisfied. The life of pleasure seeking is characterized by this kind of regret, for Kierkegaard, whereas he characterizes the ethical life as being made up of meaningful choice.
- rogerclark 4y ago#EpicMindset https://epicmindset.com https://epicmindset.com
- congulio 4y agoDo the right thing.
- nunez 4y agogo where others won't; be kind when no-one's watching; be outside as much as possible; give away as much as is reasonable; no zero-days, ever sucks as a motto but that's basically what i live by
- abdelhamidem 4y agoSapere Aude -- Dare to think by yourself
- maykut 4y ago"If it works, don't fix it."
- Froedlich 4y ago"Don't fuck with me." A bit salty in ordinary conversation. Several online translators agreed "Non futuis mecum" is an intelligible Latin equivalent. Though in conversation, probably less useful than Klingon or Navajo.
- sshlocalhost98 4y agoStand in the shoulder of giants - Sir Isaac Newton
- trillic 4y agoIf it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there.
- afarviral 4y agoGot me through some hard times: "Let it come, let it be, let it go." Also: "Accept your inner experience, choose a valued direction, take action" from ACT therapy. Whenever stressed those two mantras can guide the mind to a more productive state.
- afarviral 4y ago... oh my own personal motto... I have a few: "Ive got high friends in places". "You only die once". "The early worm gets eaten by the bird".
- anon2020dot00 4y ago"There are worse fates than death" and "There was a season for everything". Sometimes one's fears leads one to a fate worse than death; sometimes better to just accept the risk of death and say that if death wants to come then let it come. Also, the pace of time means that everything changes and sometimes this is hard to accept; but unavoidable. Everyone's life has seasons of joy and hardship.
- fargle 4y ago"mottos sunt ad infirma animo"
- anotherevan 4y agoquidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur
- blitz_skull 4y ago"Adversity devours the weak" From "Survive" by Gideon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxiXy1nAeU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxiXy1nAeU I use this mantra to remind myself that I can always go more than I think I can, and when I think I've done all I can, I can do more.
- joop_dev 4y ago“Stress is an exception” These days many of us are too stressed for hours, days or weeks on end. Whereas back in our forest days you’d be stressed once in a while when you’d suddenly see that tiger. Our bodies are made for short durations of stress, not prolonged periods. So when I notice I am stressed or feel tense, I ask myself: “Is this an exceptional moment to be stressed?” If no, I try to take a step back and evaluate why where the stress is coming from, what would happen if I ignore the situation or put less effort into it? Then hopefully feel less stressed.
- mikewarot 4y agoI can repair anything given sufficient time and budget. I've fixed old undocumented industrial controls, atomic clocks, all sorts of things. I'd be happy to help fix/reverse engineer any captured UFOs. ;-)
- amohajerani 4y agoTake is easy
- sharmi 4y agoGiven a circumstances and a set of facts and your internal state of mind/values, you will always make the same decision. So no point in regretting a decision later when more knowledge comes to light
- hash07e 4y agoHADOUKENN!!! Keep me going forward!
- AndyJado 4y agojust made my day, pal
- lmiller1990 4y agoGet comfortable been uncomfortable.
- marttt 4y agoIf you're afraid, don't do it; if you do it, don't be afraid. -- my dad I remember reasoning like this a lot in my early adulthood when I had to to use our (diy, somewhat inaccurate and scary) table saw.
- electricant 4y ago"If you want something well done you'd better do it yourself" No matter what there's always a tradeoff between having something in life the way you like it with lots of effort or rely on somebody else. But when you rely on other people they'll do stuff the way _they_ like. It's both a motto that encourages me to try new things and invest time doing them but also to respect other people's work and point of views.
- thorin 4y agoWhat one man can do, another man can do.
- miej 4y ago"Whatever works." Not in a dismissive way like a statement of idle non-preference, but rather as a hyper-pragmatic statement along the lines of ''doesn't matter how weird/silly the solution, if it solves something important, then it is valuable"
- hungryhippo1 4y agoThe woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. ---Robert Frost
- taubek 4y agoIf a problem has a solution - it will be solved. If it has no solution - why to worry then?