Ask Lemmy

“Be excellent to each other”.

Show some compassion, be a bro, care about other people. Maybe we can make society a bit better; one person, one act of kindness, at a time.

Remember you will die. Not as a fear but simply as a reminder.

If you can't control it, don't worry about it.

Used to mostly keep me sane at work

90% of life is showing up.

I use this every time I'm on the fence about going to an event or just curling up on the couch.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." — George Bernard Shaw

"Anything that isn't nothing"

Helps me push through when executive dysfunction hits. Getting outside for even just a little bit is a whole lot better than staying inside while telling myself I'm going to run 3 miles, for example

Try to live a happy life imposing as little as possible on others.

"In doubt, reboot"

People should really learn this one

if you want to achieve nothing, form a committee

Before you criticize a man, you should walk a mile in his shoes. That way if he gets angry, you’re a mile away! And you’ve got his shoes!

"Don't say things about someone behind their back, if you wouldn't be prepared to say it to their face"

Paraphrased from Forrest Gump.

“Well, I’ve come this far. Might as well keep going.”

It’s great, because you just lie to yourself about the starting point of any task, and it doesn’t seem so bad.
If I’ve survived from birth until now, then I guess I can survive doing the dishes.

life has no meaning, so find one.

i'm an absurdist :]

Intelligence does not protect you from stupidity.

Nothin’, what’s a motto with you?

Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value.

Albert Einstein

Always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. You never know what someone else is going through.

Be morally better than average. If you justify being bad by saying everyone else is doing it, you're not helping the downward spiral. Because bad people and people with no choice make things worse on average.

Brings to mind the bene gesserit litany against fear:

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

I often pair with:

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Which is a nice allegory for most any chemical stimulant (coffee).

Everything is true, nothing is permitted.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

This is only temporary, unless it works.

“This night would be better spent preparing for the next life instead of rehashing the mistakes of this one.”

Lt. Commander Worf.

Be the change you want to see in the world

To me that means to live in a way that if everyone else did too, the world would be a better place. It obviously doesn't gurantee that my moral compas always points to the right direction but it's the only indication I've got about what's right and what's wrong. This also means that I don't go out of my way doing some major charity work but just that I do my part no matter how insignificant it might feel because I believe that if everyone else did that too it would bring about a real change.

Customer support: trust but verify.

I believe they have a problem. I believe they think they restarted, but I'm gonna check anyway.

In disagreements: "does it matter?"

Most shit we get angry about isn't important. In the grand scheme of life, most shit just doesn't matter.

Blind faith runs into things.

Batman in an interrogation room pins joker to the wall.

Batman: “I’ve only got one rule”

Joker: “Then that’s the rule you’re gonna have to break to get what you want”.

Now I hate Marvell and all super hero movies but I do find that quote applies to a lot of things.

If you’re truthful or law abiding then law breakers have an advantage on you. They’ll try and undermine free and fair elections.

If you’re a pacifist then people will use violence to try and control you, such as terrorism, or simply ignore your laws.

If you have socialism then people will pour in from other countries or try to exploit the system in whatever they can.

If the police or strict or lax in either direction it causes upset.

Whatever you say is a law, or a line you won’t cross, is something that people will exploit.

Keep it simple, stupid.

"Fuck 'em! Fuck 'em all!"

"Too much force will break it." The only thing worthwhile my mother taught me.

Every machine is a smoke machine if you operate it wrong enough.

And my favorite: If you're good at something, never do it for free.

Life's too short to spend it angry

My father always said: "It's better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick."

The world is unfair in that way and we should remember that.

"in 50yrs, who will care?"

Well, before doing something stupid my motto is, "Oh, what the hell."

But what I actually strive for is, "Everbody's suffering, so give them a little grace and maybe a smile."

I rotate through these for everything from physical training to career goals to reminding myself to do my best to not be a douchebag:

“If I give up now, I’m going to regret it.” -Monkey D. Luffy

"Where's the future? Right here. Whose life is this? Mine. What are you gonna do with it? Live it by any means necessary." -Jefferson Pierce

"If you wanna stop this, then stand up! Because I've got one thing to say to you! Never forget who you want to become!" -Shoto Todoroki

"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." -Marcus Aurelius

"Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero." -Izuku Midoriya

“I’ve set myself to become the King of the Pirates… and if I die trying… then at least I tried.” -Monkey D. Luffy

"If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." -Steven Universe

"Everything will be okay in the end.
If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Try to be nice, never fail to be kind. It's important to support the people around you. Those people can be your safety net and metaphorical ladder to climb

Wherever you go, there you are.

Me and my wife’s motto: Vi klarer alt, translated as We can do/endure everything. Usually accompanied by us clinking our wedding rings.

Everything is temporary

Don't craft a well thought out response to someone John Brown would have shot [absolutely necessary for getting through the internet] and don't give two weeks notice to a job that makes you miserable [absolutely necessary for leaving a shitty work situation].

"you can fix dumb, but you can't fix lazy"

If you don't know, I can teach you. If you just don't want to learn, well that's a different story