Motto.
My motto is ‘Stick to you motto’
A motto (derived from the Latin muttum, ‘mutter’, by way of Italian motto, ‘word’, ‘sentence’; plural: mottoes (always listed first) or also mottos) is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization.
Mottos are a strange thing. It’s very subtle but the different between a good one and a bad one is a thin line.
I think there’s a problem with having a motto. It ties you to something, and while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there’s more to having a motto than it being a word or a sentence.
I think it should be a guiding idea in your life, or your business. It might be a paragraph, or it might be a word. It might not be called a motto, it might be called a culture statement or a code of ethics. But it shouldn’t be limiting, it should give you the freedom to operate in whatever situation you find yourself in.
I’ve experimented with a few things in the past. The first one was something along the lines of this.
“Don’t worry what people think of you”.
Now this on the surface is quite respectable, but there is a lot of scope. I’ve seen people use this sort of thing to do things that make others feel shit.
Second try.
“Don’t make other people feel shit”
Slightly better maybe? But it’s more about actions. It’s a little bit open as well — “So I can do stuff if others don’t find out and that’s ok right?”
Time to step back a little bit. The last two I’ve talked about tell you something that you shouldn’t do. Why the negativity? Let’s think about what we’re trying to create. Not a list of commandments, but maybe something that can be used to create a feeling as to whether a decision is right, or you’re doing things that fit with the type of life you would like to lead.
I’m not sure how I worked these out, I think they just felt right. But these 4 words display the type of things I would like to emphasise in my life.
Learn, try, enjoy, feel.
No order, they’re all as important as each other ☺
