For many of us, mottos serve as the guiding principles in our lives, succinctly encapsulating our wisdom, values, and aspirations. Often, when we feel lost or unsure of how to navigate a situation, it’s helpful to return to the comfort of our mottos, which remind us how we want to live. Here are five of the most important mottos in my life:
1. Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have
This motto is very important when it comes to one’s priorities in life. It’s easy to get swept up in the desire to be surrounded by close friends and significant others, but no matter how many relationships you have, they will not be healthy unless you have a good relationship with yourself. Therefore, it’s important to prioritize your own mental health and happiness, and make sure that you’re happy with yourself before forming other relationships. I’ve found this to be an immensely helpful mindset, and I have sensed noticeable differences in my relationships when I prioritize myself versus others.
2. Create a life you can’t wait to wake up to
This is pretty self-explanatory, but nonetheless important. Many of the circumstances that make our lives enjoyable are within our control, so it’s on us to surround ourselves with good people, take part in activities that we enjoy, and do anything else that makes us excited to wake up every morning.
3. The choice that scares you the most will help you grow
This motto has helped dictate many of the biggest decisions I’ve made in my life– one of which was my choice of college. I was between two schools that were polar opposites: one small, private, and Catholic, the other a massive public school. I knew I would be more comfortable at the first school, as its circumstances were similar to those of my high school, while the thought of going to a large school was scary. However, I knew that being uncomfortable at first would allow me to become a more courageous person in the long run, pushing me to take part in things I never had before. After being at the larger public school for a year now, I can confidently say that I’ve experienced immense growth and am more confident than I’ve ever been, which is why I will always remember this motto when faced with a difficult decision in the future.
4. Take the risk or lose the chance
“Take the risk or lose the chance” has directed many of the smaller, less significant choices I’ve made in my life. I often find myself overthinking decisions, going back and forth for so long that I almost lose the opportunity to do anything. Whenever I find myself being sucked down a rabbit hole like that, I ask myself deep down if not doing the thing I’m contemplating will end up being something I regret. If the answer is yes, I’ll try to get myself to stop thinking and just pull the trigger, because, if I don’t, I might lose the opportunity completely, and that would be much worse. Sometimes you just have to make decisions even if they scare you, because the fear will go away eventually, but the experience won’t come back.
“Sometimes you just have to make decisions even if they scare you.”
Eloise Krause
5. Appreciate where you are, even if it’s not where you want to be
Appreciating our circumstances is easy when life is going smoothly, but not so much when it feels like everything is going wrong, and that’s when it’s most important to find good within the bad. It’s certainly possible to find things to appreciate even when life isn’t going our way, and something I often remind myself of when I’m having a tough few weeks is that I’ll be a stronger person when things start getting better. Appreciate that there is opportunity for growth, and that no moment in life will ever come back, even if the moment is really not fun. We should appreciate our bad days, because if it weren’t for them, the good days wouldn’t feel as special.
These five mottos have guided me through both the highs and lows of my life, and I hope that at least one of them will be helpful in the same way for you!