What a difference a single word makes! I was talking to my mentor about my new tag line, and we were debating between the merits of “Overcome overwhelm” versus “Eliminate overwhelm”.
Overcome Overwhelm
He was a fan of “Overcome overwhelm”, because of the alliteration. And I could see his point. After all, that’s why I chose “Overcome Obstacles in 3 Simple Steps” for the subtitle of my book. Isn’t it clearer for the reader and potential audience member to use the same wording?
However, there’s a big difference, as far as I’m concerned. When you’re dealing with an obstacle, there’s a great big thing in front of you, preventing you from moving forward. You have to go over/under/around it to get back on track. So “overcome” makes perfect sense in that setting.
But I remember what it felt like when I was overwhelmed. The mountain of things I needed to do. They all clamored for my attention, demanding I make some decision or take some action. The thought that there was yet something else I would have to overcome? That sounded like too much effort, even to overcome the overwhelm itself. I just couldn’t deal with any more.
I didn’t want my tag line to scare away the very people I was trying to help!
Eliminate Overwhelm
While it doesn’t have the pleasing alliteration, “Eliminate overwhelm” is more positive and definite. It gives you hope that you can end the crushing situation once and for all. You can move on to a better, more fulfilling life. Of course, the truth is that everyone will experience overwhelm now and again. Using the ROAR techniques, however, you can keep the overwhelm situational (too many rush jobs coming in at work, too many obligations on a given weekend, too many food options at a buffet) rather than a constant state of being that takes over your entire life.
This is a tag line that could gently put a hand on someone’s shoulder and say, “Stop. Take a deep breath. There’s a way out.”
That’s not the only reason. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my memory, “eliminate” is associated with animated commercials for RAID bug spray. I envision my overwhelm as a black cockroach, on its back, legs kicking feebly. Finally, it stops moving forever, and a deep voice intones that it’s been stopped dead.
So whether it’s an uplifting message of hope, or a dark vision of elimination, the tag line works. It conveys that the ROAR techniques will deal with your overwhelm, dramatically and consistently.
The Result
My official tag line for my speaking uses “Eliminate overwhelm.” If I’m talking to you about my book, and then shift into talking about my speaking, I may say “Overcome overwhelm”. You could consider overwhelm to be a type of obstacle. Really, it’s the condition of facing a second (or third, or fourth, or…) obstacle before you’ve finished dealing with the existing one or ones. You’re unable to determine which obstacle should be handled and which should be ignored. They all need to be handled. So your brain freezes up, and you can’t handle anything. But if I’m talking to you, your overwhelm is probably not that severe. After all, you’re at a meeting or conference of some sort, talking to people. The mere thought of needing to overcome something else will not paralyze you. In that case, the benefit of using the same words wins.
