Doesn’t have to be a life motto. Any motto, for any application.
Mine is: “Fear is shorter than regret.”
“Some is better than none.” -My motto throughout college.
Usually I was stressed by the number of chapters I had to read, or pages I had to write. Instead of shutting down and not doing anything, I would tell myself to just read a single page or write a paragraph because any amount of work done is better than nothing.
Now I apply it to work and chores.