You may very well have these or variations thereof, but I thought it was a cool exercise, and these popped into my head:

Focus on whats in front of you, but be aware of what's around you.
If you keep retreating, you will eventually lose - At some point, you must hold your ground.
Things often have a lot of momentum - best to use it than directly oppose it.
In a real fight for survival, there are no rules.
Envisioning failure ensures it.