Our life is like an adventure. It is challenging, unpredictable and certainly prone to change in the blink of an eye. Sometimes you have to take difficult decisions. Sometimes you have to choose between what is easy and what is right. Sometimes you have to decide what is worth your time and effort, and what is unnecessary and holding you back.

Each minute, each hour and each day of our life is precious as time lost can never be regained. So how can you spend an organised life when there are so many temptations and so many distractions to derail you from your goal and prevent you from reaching your destination?

One way of dealing with confusion and problems that try to overwhelm you is to have a personal motto. A motto is a favourite saying, a slogan or a catchphrase that can be adopted as a personal guide. A personal motto can help you to decide when you are having difficulty in making a decision. It can help you to stay focused on what is important. It can remind you of your ultimate goal and make you persevere when conditions are not in your favour. A motto is in fact a guiding principle that can give you comfort, hope and motivation.

confusion and problems that try to overwhelm you is to have a personal motto. A motto is a favourite saying, a slogan or a catchphrase that can be adopted as a personal guide. A personal motto can help you to decide when you are having difficulty in making a decision. It can help you to stay focused on what is important. It can remind you of your ultimate goal and make you persevere when conditions are not in your favour.

A motto is in fact a guiding principle that can give you comfort, hope and motivation.

Why should you have a personal motto?

A personal motto can be a very powerful ally. It can be your friend, your mentor and your support. It can help you to eliminate negative thoughts and replace them with positive emotions.

Let’s suppose you find mathematics very difficult or you are learning how to swim. Instead of telling yourself “I can’t do it”, “It’s too difficult, I will fail”, adopt the motto “Yes I can.” Every time you open your notebook or stand at the edge of the water, take a deep breath and say “Yes I can”. You will be surprised to see how much it will affect your approach in tackling a difficult subject or chore.

A motto can help you change those aspects of your personality that trouble you. Do you get angry easily? Do you bite your nails? Is your room untidy? Are you always late or disorganised? A right motto can supply you with enough will power to change yourself for the better. For anger issues or fights with siblings, how about telling yourself, “I will not let anger become my master.”

Repeat it to yourself many times and you will see a difference. A child addicted to soft drinks and junk food can adopt the motto “My health, my life” and fight the urge to eat foods that are bad for the health.

A personal motto can help you overcome disappointment and frustration. It helps to lift your mood and give you hope of a better tomorrow. It can urge you to try harder and not give up. Try this one: “If at first I don’t succeed, I will try, try again.”

A personal motto can also help you in determining your long-term goals, even if you are uncertain of what your future looks like. You can choose a motto that defines your personality or the traits that you wish to have, such as “Truth. Compassion. Hard Work.” You can apply these traits to every situation that you face in life whether at home, school or elsewhere.

How to create your own personal motto?

You can create your own motto or adopt the mantra of another person whom you admire. Your motto can really have a long-lasting effect on your character and your personality, so choose it carefully. To create or adopt a motto, first you have to know your own dreams, aspirations and weaknesses.

For example, if you have a kind heart and you wish to change the world for the better, your motto can be, “Be like the sun and you shall warm the earth.” This will motivate you to help others and be kind just like the sun disperses light and warmth everywhere.

If you want to be successful and achieve a great deal in life, your motto can be “Opportunities don’t happen. We create them.” A motto such as this will encourage you to create opportunities and look for solutions rather than wait for the problems to go away by themselves.

Let’s suppose someone is prone to laziness and is constantly struggling to get their work and chores done, then their motto can be “Good habits, great life.” If this motto is repeated every time the person feels like slacking, it can help to focus on the advantages of adopting good habits and on the ultimate goal which is to have a great life.

For someone who struggles with low self-esteem and lacks self-confidence, a good guiding principle can be, “I am unique. There is no one like me. I matter.” A motto such as this one will stop you from feeling depressed and help you to realise your own self worth. Every time you say, “I matter” to yourself, you will realise how important you are for those around you.

The second step in creating your motto is to write a vision statement for your life and then make it short, catchy and easy to learn.

Let’s say your vision statement is, “I will try to be a good student. I will work hard. I want to make my parents proud of me. I want to help those in need. I will learn many new things. I want to travel the world. I want to learn a new language. I want to play football. I can make myself a better person.”

Your motto can be a sentence, a phrase or just a list of words. Such as

‘My life, my responsibility!’ or ‘I can. I will. I shall.’

Let’s see another vision statement: I am young and there are many things that I do not know. I am struggling at school and sometimes I am not sure of what to do. But I can always try and I will keep going forward. I will keep learning new things.”

A perfect motto would be: “Giving up is not my style!”

So you see your motto should reflect your core values as well as values you wish to inculcate. You can write it in a diary that you use often or memorise it or even make a colourful poster to hang in your room. People who have a well-defined motto in life have a definite edge over people who have no dreams or goals. Create your own motto today and see the difference.

Famous mottos:

If you have never thought of having a personal motto before, you can learn a lot from other people’s mottos in life.

‘Unity. Faith. Discipline’ — Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

‘My motto is, ‘Never quit.’’ — Henry Rollins (A musician).

‘I have a motto on my bedroom wall: ‘Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off the goal.’’ — Chris Burke (Actor).

‘‘If you believe, you can achieve’ — that’s my motto!’ —Sophie Turner (Actress).

‘My life motto is ‘Do my best, so that I can’t blame myself for anything.’’ — Magdalena Neuner (Biathlete)

‘I live by the motto, ‘Today is what I have.’’ — Amber Heard (Actress)

‘If I rest, I rust.’ — Placido Domingo (Arts administrator)

And here are some famous corporate taglines or slogans that can be adopted as mottos

‘Just do it’ — Nike

‘Think different’ — Apple Inc.

‘The best or nothing’ — Mercedes-Benz

‘Faster, higher, stronger’ — Olympic Games

‘Act well your part. There all the honour lies’ — International Thespian Society

‘Be prepared’ — Boy Scouts

‘Impossible is nothing’ — Adidas

Published in Dawn, Young World April 1st, 2017