Because slogans are easy to remember, they can have remarkable power. Think how many people bought BMW because it is “the Ultimate Driving Machine,” chose Energizer over Duracell batteries because “it keeps going and going and going,” flew United because it “flies the friendly skies.” ate Wheaties because it’s "The Breakfast of Champions,” rented from Avis because “We Try Harder” and insured with Allstate because “You’re in good hands with Allstate.”
Slogans have also probably changed other of our behaviors. For example, I’d bet that more people bestowed kindnesses because of “Do random acts of kindness” and became more environmentally conscious because of “Save the Earth” and “Go Green.”
Those slogans were aimed at mass behavior change but a custom slogan may help you accomplish your personal goal.
Creating your personal slogan
1. What’s one thing you’d like to change in your life:
Career: Get a better job? Improve your skills? Your work ethic? Start your own business? Other (specify):
Money: Make more? Save more? Spend more? Other? (specify):
Relationship: Meet a romantic partner? Improve an existing relationship? Spend more time alone?
Education: Learn more? Teach more? Other? (specify):
Health: Lose weight? Stop or reduce substance abuse? See the dentist? Other? (specify):
Recreation: Do more or less of? (specify):
2. Say it in five words or less, ideally cleverly. For example, if you want to lose weight, you might say “Down 20 by 12/20.” Other examples: Kiss your boss goodbye, Moolah-boolah, My true love’s out there, Get smart, as size 12-once again.
3. Still in five words or less, the fewer the better, see if you can say it even more memorably: perhaps a rhyme, alliteratively, vividly, or edgily.
4. Put your slogan all around: as your computer’s wallpaper, on your refrigerator, on your palm, even create a bumper sticker. Websites such as buildasign.com enable you to create a bumper sticker and buy it in a quantity as low as 1.
5, Say your slogan aloud, again and again until, like a music ear worm, you can’t get it out of your head.
A tempering note
Of course, slogans don’t always work. “Just do it” didn’t make everyone buy Nike but it sure made us more likely to. There’s no risk in trying a slogan: minimal effort, no side effects and just maybe it will improve your life without your having to resort to more complicated approaches.
Marty Nemko's bio is in Wikipedia.