# What's your mantra? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436 "2020-12-20T01:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/21 "2020-12-20T12:30:19Z")
“Strive for the world that should be. Plan for the world that will be.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/22 "2020-12-20T14:43:00Z")
“Do exactly as I say, and no one will get hurt.” When my gf helps me with a project, like holding the base of the ladder while I cut branches from a tree, I always look her in the eye and say it. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/23 "2020-12-20T16:27:21Z")
I maintain a phony smile until an annoying customer, or an annoying co-worker, leaves the room. Then I shrug, say, “F### it. I don’t care”, and go back to my regular work. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/24 "2020-12-20T16:30:32Z")
One _day_ at a time. One _hour_ at a time. One _minute_ at a time. And – when necessary – one _second_ at a time. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/25 "2020-12-20T17:49:38Z")
When I start to regret some foolish purchase, I remind myself, “I’ve spent fifty bucks on dumber shit than this.” When small improvements seem insignificant, I remember, “Better is better. Better **IS** better.” ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/26 "2020-12-20T18:10:06Z")
You gotta live like you’re on vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Anita\_Dayoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Anita\_Dayoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anita_Dayoff)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/27 "2020-12-20T18:56:13Z")
This mantra was written just for you. Don’t share it with anyone else Owa Tajer Khayam Mystically powerful when repeated quickly ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/28 "2020-12-20T18:59:57Z")
My father, who had questionable tastes in humor, had a similar one: Owa Tagu Siam ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/29 "2020-12-20T19:05:18Z")
“Perfect” is the enemy of “good enough”. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/30 "2020-12-20T19:11:11Z")
That is SO true. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/31 "2020-12-20T21:25:03Z")
Never trust a man who says “trust me.” ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/32 "2020-12-20T21:27:16Z")
Nobody’s as smart as they think they are. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/33 "2020-12-21T04:31:11Z")
Never do today what can be put off until tomorrow (or later). Leaving things to the last minute ensures they get done faster. Hassle is always finite. “Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur “Don’t eat the fire truck!” – Advice given to Darby Crash with unexpectedly broad applications. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/34 "2020-12-21T04:47:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > It _CAN_ always get worse. Yup. If someone says it can’t get worse say ‘yeah it can. just imagine whats happening now, plus a cluster headache’. My go to mantra when I feel life is too painful, we are all too dumb and deranged, we aren’t competent to solve our problems is ‘in 100 years neuroscience will have figured out how to rewire the brain’ Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/35 "2020-12-21T04:49:04Z")
> [@Anita\_Dayoff](#): > > This mantra was written just for you. Don’t share it with anyone else > > Owa Tajer Khayam > > Mystically powerful when repeated quickly I Am Sofa King We Todd Ed ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/36 "2020-12-21T04:49:33Z")
“If that’s the worst thing that happens this [week], we’re doing pretty well.” Adjust the time span given in brackets as necessary, according to the size of the problem and/or disaster. I sometimes find myself saying ‘if that’s the worst thing that happens this month’ or ‘this year’. I can only think of a couple of occasions that called for ‘if that’s the worst thing that happens this lifetime.’ ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/37 "2020-12-21T17:52:37Z")
Two that I figured out for myself: - _Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it initially seems_ - _You have to deal with the world as it is, not the world as you wish it would be_ And one that I nicked from Bill Parcells: - _You are what your record says you are._ He was talking about football, but I believe it applies generally. j ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/38 "2020-12-21T17:57:19Z")
I’ve got quite a few, but the one that is used most often: Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/39 "2020-12-21T18:30:25Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > “Perfect” is the enemy of “good enough”. “It’s better than good. It’s good enough!” * * * Mine is, “It’s not my fault, but it is my responsibility.” I have a laundry list of personal struggles, none of which are my fault, but all of which are my responsibility to deal with effectively. I have a couple others, anxiety-related. “Don’t suffer twice” and “Discomfort, not danger.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436/40 "2020-12-21T18:38:48Z")
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. – Hanlon’s Razor And, you can’t control everything, you can only control yourself. Or something like that. Whatev. Re “whatev”, hey, another one! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-mantra/928436.md?page=3)