Mascots are chosen for a variety of reasons. I believe many athletic teams choose theirs to intimidate the opponent and/or tie in to the community. My high school mascot was a hawk, an intimidating bird of prey. Roxana (IL) chose the shells because of the local refinery. I’m not sure where some schools get their idea for a mascot. My husband’s high school chose “crimson.” I don’t see how a color would be intimidating, and I don’t know if there is a community tie or not; but it certainly isn’t controversial.

Businesses come up a variety of mascots. Some are fun and catchy. I still remember the dancing raisin commercials from the California vineyards. And if you did too, the song is now running through your head–“I heard it through the grapevine….” But I digress.

Animals are common mascots. Think of Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) and the Trix Rabbit (for Trix, obviously). Beyond cereal, Aflac uses a duck and Budweiser used frogs in the 1996 Super Bowl ads. It was a popular, but short lived set of commercials in which the mascot really had nothing to do with the product.

A frog is an interesting mascot. It certainly is not intimidating and unless your school or company is near water, it most likely is not community related.

So, why did our writing group choose the frog as a mascot?

After writing all day, we gather for the evening meal and brainstorm over ideas, share our successes and seek help with writer’s block as well as editing help. One year, we were discussing the need to stop procrastinating and really focus on the main goal.

I remembered a video about time management that I had found helpful. Brian Tracy wrote a book entitled “Eat That Frog!” There was a video that summarized the topic and describes the frog to that task you are likely to procrastinate and urging you to eat it first (get it done). Pulling it up on my laptop and sharing it with the group, it immediately resonated with those attending.

While the frog reference to avoid procrastinating is useful as well as humorous, we were also reminded about the acronym “F.R.O.G.” which reminds us to Fully Rely On God, something we strive to do as Christians and also in our writing efforts.

Fast forward 4 years and the frog has shown up every year in gift bags, signs, cookies and this year, one of the writers even served frog legs so we could “literally” eat a frog. In the picture above, I have my frog timer that helps me concentrate and reach a writing time goal before taking a break. The other frogs sit on my desk area and the cookie will not be back next year for obvious reasons. Every year, I put these items (minus the food items) back into my motivation box to return with me. The other writers and I share throughout the year about the frogs we continue to eat daily.

For a mascot, he is pretty fun!