I still felt like crap today, so taking it easy on the physical end of things. I also ate three tacos for Taco Monday instead of the two I should have. But for Day 1 of the Stoics challenge (really Day 2, if you count yesterday's cold-shower warmup), the task was to come up with a mantra. Something short and inspiring that you say to yourself every day, multiple times a day, to keep you going when things get tough.

I already kind of do this in various ways. I've been known to say (to both myself and my kids) on some of the worst days: "Tomorrow is a new day." Sometimes it's the only thing that gets me through when the day has been rough, or if I didn't do what I thought I'd do, which is torture for my perfectionist soul. Telling myself I get a do-over on the morrow is soothing.

I also like "amor fati," or "love of one's fate," which is kind of the Daily Stoics mantra. I would even consider getting that as a tattoo. But for this challenge it seems like a cheat. 

So two other top contenders that I like: "Keep fucking going" (I used to have a ring that said this, before I lost it) and "This is the way" (from The Mandalorian). I don't know why I especially like the second one. Maybe because I really liked The Mandalorian, and because it seems saying "this is the way" might offer me encouragement to keep going that way, even if it seems like a tough way, because "this is the way." That's the way I have to go if I want to get to where I want to go. Simple but powerful.

Fuck it, I'm doing both. And just got the hat and ring to match.

Tweets and treats at @jenngidman.