A Lot o' Mottos: What are your words to live by?

[carebear]

"Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't chew and don't go out with girls that do..."

Words my mother said that I don't live by.

 

[Hondo]

I like Shakespeare, he had it right ""To Thy Own Self Be True"

 

[Hondo]

"Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't chew and don't go out with girls that do..."

Words my mother said that I don't live by.

Are you still living by these dude? lol
Mydear old Mom always said "Don't drink!" I said Mom its only cran berry juice (Shhh.... I didn't have the heart to tell her vodka) lol

 

[carebear]

DON'T live by...

I choose my women like I choose my parking spaces. Convenience and accessibility.

 

[rubyredlocks]

Jazzbaby's moto made think of a line from a Louis Jordan song:

"I'm gonna drink to everybody's health til I ruin my own!"
I hate to admit that was pretty accurate for me in my teens to late 20s,but one day I decided I didn't want to live like that anymore so I stopped.
When anyone asks me how I was able to,my reply is:

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired!"

 

[Technonut]

"Time waits for no man".............Everyman

EDIT: Added pic...

 

[Hondo]

DON'T live by...

I choose my women like I choose my parking spaces. Convenience and accessibility.

Bad boy!!! Honor mom, well try but still watch out of the cracks in those parking spaces lol

 

[Nashoba]

My husband has taught me these...I struggle with them though

Don't worry about the things you cannot change or control, concentrate on the things you can

Smooth is fast (from my waitressing days when I the faster I tried to work the clumsier I got, once led to slipping on of all things a french fry and shattering a glass in my hand...that scar reminds me now that smooth is fast)

and of course
Semper Gumby

 

[Fletch]

"Weakness Provokes"

I know a lot of people that subscribe to that.

What do you think of it? Do you subscribe to it?

It was Jefferson who said it originally - and it was about statecraft, not people. (Actually it was "Weakness provokes insult and injury," when we were a brand new nation and pirates were messing with our shipping).

What's "weakness" in our everyday lives? Do we really have to be that "strong" against other people?

 

[carebear]

Weakness and strength don't necessarily have to be "against" or "towards" others. They just have to recognizably "be".

If you are visibly strong, self-confidence / self-assurance is as big or bigger a factor than size, it deters those whose nature is to prey on the weak. You don't actually have to go throw your strength and confidence around.

If you appear weak, lacking confidence and assurance, predators will be attracted to you as a potential victim. You can read that time and time again in interviews with criminals. Whether it's emotional manipulation or criminal exploitation, projecting an appearance of weakness is inviting trouble.

There are a lot of good people in the world, but it's Pollyanna-ish to ignore the reality of predators, especially those who mask themselves as "good".

 

[Fletch]

Well sure - projecting a sense of self-assurance is good advice for anybody, any time. But if we all just go around with masks on saying don't &*!! with me, we're gonna drive some good people away and seriously skew our sense of reality. I speak from some experience here.

It's also not healthy advice for fearful people. It will tend to make them more fearful.

 

[carebear]

Demonstrating self-assurance doesn't take wearing a "war face". Anyway, predators can read false signals, it's their livelihood.

From interviews with criminals on how they choose their victims, making yourself an unattractive potential target can be as simple as walking erect, shoulders back, chest out with your head and eyes up and moving, not staring at your feet, palpably aware of your surroundings. Making eye contact briefly with people, to acknwledge you are aware of them and won't be taken by surprise. Eye contact, brief, not staring down, also shows a certain confidence. Looking away and avoiding eye contact is prey behavior in mammals. "If I can't see you, you can't see me." It's like a dinner bell.

As far as victimization, physical or emotional, goes, the common refrain is "I never saw it coming". However, victimization surveys reveal that after being questioned more closely about the scenario, the victim recalls certain clues they actively chose to ignore, for a variety of reasons. Awareness, and showing yourself involved in your surroundings, shows confidence in yourself and that alone is a demonstrated deterrent.

 

[warbird]

Demonstrating self-assurance doesn't take wearing a "war face". Anyway, predators can read false signals, it's their livelihood.

From interviews with criminals on how they choose their victims, making yourself an unattractive potential target can be as simple as walking erect, shoulders back, chest out with your head and eyes up and moving, not staring at your feet, palpably aware of your surroundings. Making eye contact briefly with people, to acknwledge you are aware of them and won't be taken by surprise. Eye contact, brief, not staring down, also shows a certain confidence. Looking away and avoiding eye contact is prey behavior in mammals. "If I can't see you, you can't see me." It's like a dinner bell.

As far as victimization, physical or emotional, goes, the common refrain is "I never saw it coming". However, victimization surveys reveal that after being questioned more closely about the scenario, the victim recalls certain clues they actively chose to ignore, for a variety of reasons. Awareness, and showing yourself involved in your surroundings, shows confidence in yourself and that alone is a demonstrated deterrent.

Very true, you don't have to be angry looking, but you'll be far better off in life by being keenly aware. Looking back on it now, the training I received at Gunsite and my years of wearing a 'piece for peace', have made me far more aware of my surroundings and those whom i come in contact with. People shouldn't be paranoid as obviously that leads to internal damage, but to be oblivious could someday cost you much more.

If you've ever been the object of someone intent to harm you, you will never see the world the same again.

 

[JazzBaby]

Jazzbaby's moto made think of a line from a Louis Jordan song:

"I'm gonna drink to everybody's health til I ruin my own!"

Ok, I'm offically stealing this as my new motto!

 

[beaucaillou]

What do you think of it? Do you subscribe to it?

It was Jefferson who said it originally - and it was about statecraft, not people. (Actually it was "Weakness provokes insult and injury," when we were a brand new nation and pirates were messing with our shipping).

What's "weakness" in our everyday lives? Do we really have to be that "strong" against other people?

I do not subscribe to it. I'm sort of inherently anti-this. I'm much more from the John Lydon school of things.

The way I take the statement in regards to people is that 'weakness provokes others to take action for or against you...' it's akin to laziness and apathy, and if it is consciously utilized, is a form of manipulation. Manipulation I'm less opposed to because there's the factor of those who allow themselves to be manipulated, but apathy and weakness for the sake of weakness - as a form of inactive action. That's a hard one for me to have time for.

 

[warbird]

An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass and not fall off the face of the earth.

Words to live and drink by.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I swear by my life and the love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man nor ask another man to live for mine.

 

[griffer]

I swear by my life and the love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man nor ask another man to live for mine.

Women quoting Rand make me smile.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Richard Branson's "Screw it. Let's do it!"

 

[Chanfan]

My SCA motto is a variant on some posted previously -

Chi fa falla, e chi non fa sfarfalla.
Those who act make mistakes; and those who do nothing really blunder.

Some of these seem to cross over from a motto into a quote, of which I have a few for my email signatures.