I have a number of life mantras, pillars of life you might call them, that I try to live by.

1. You reap what you sow.

This one is simple—you get out what you put in. I always try to do the very best I can, because I know that at the end of the day, your efforts are rewarded. And if they’re not for whatever reason, they will be later down the track. For those unwilling to put in the effort, life won’t hand them what they want. An example of this for me is going to the gym. Lately, I haven’t been the most consistent guy with my workouts. I’ve been skipping sessions, and even when I’m there, I’m not giving 100%. It shows—in my less-than-ideal visual appearance. I know that if I put in more effort, I’ll get better results, and that’s something that motivates me to try harder.

2. This too shall pass.

For those times when I’m facing hardship, this mantra reminds me that if I persevere long enough, whatever bad thing is happening now will eventually pass. It’s a bit like waiting out the storm to see the rainbow in the clearing.

3. The 50% rule.

This one I totally made up, but it’s helped me tackle a lot of life’s difficulties, especially workloads and projects. I aim to do 50% of the work and then stop to do something else for a while. Later, I come back and usually finish the rest. Even if it’s a task that takes five minutes, I’ll do half of it, stop, and return to it later. The reason is that starting something from scratch feels daunting, but once I’ve done part of it, the foundation is there. The momentum is already building, and I feel motivated to finish. It’s less tiring than forcing myself to power through in one sitting.

4. One shot.

Lately, I’ve become a one-shot type of guy. I got this idea from a famous director who only takes one shot of his films, and I found the concept fascinating. It means whatever you put out there is the immediate result, even if it’s not perfect. And perfection, as we all know, can sometimes be the enemy of the good. I’ve started doing this with my writing. I’ll write something on the first go, and instead of rewriting it over and over like I used to, I just go with what I’ve written. There’s a sense of rawness and honesty to a first shot that I really like, and I hope that it shines through.