Change Your Vocabulary To Change Your Life
Over the weekend I was driving home from a nice run on the river when I started thinking about conversations I had the previous night. Only I wasn’t really focused on the context of what was said during dinner, drinks and a weird ass Rampage Jackson UFC win. It was the words I chose to use.
I remember using the word “hate.” And I hate using the word hate. It’s one of the worst and most harmful words in the English language. It not only has the potential to hurt others, but also changes your frame of mind. Saying you hate something tells your brain to start thinking negatively. You instantly start to begin to focus on the negative.
That’s not the only word that I have been trying to remove from my vocabulary.
Here’s a short list that I am focusing on right now:
- Should
- Can’t
- Try
- Problems
This small list is helping to transition my mental state from that of negativity, failure, lack of confidence and by replacing them with strong, empowering words like
- Will / Can
- Challenges / Obstacles
What we focus on is where we go. It’s not the Law Of Attraction, it’s the ability to control your own actions. When on a coaching call with Tom McCarthy I remember him hammering it into my head when he said that no one controls how you act and what you do, but you. You can always say no, you can always say yes.
Of course there are consequences for making decisions, but it is you who creates your own state, the way you feel and the way you act.
Once you start to relaize this and you start to act in a positive, successful manner, things will start to turn up right in front of your face.
Instead of investing in the problem (a negative word), focus on the solution (an empowering word).
An example would be being broke. If you focus on bills, and crazy ass creditors calling you and start to stress about how much money you owe, you are defeating yourself and putting yourself in a state of stress, in a state of unhappiness and possibly depression.
The opposite would be the person who has a stark of bills and starts thinking about how to make more money. Instead of spending 30 minutes cutting coupons, can you contact 5 potential JV partners, write the next 10 pages in your eBook, shoot a video, read a book or whatever else you can be doing to get ahead. You are putting energy into the positive, and it works, it works damn good.
So back to vocabulary.
Start thinking consciously about the words you not only say out-loud, but use internally. They will help you have a kick ass day, and ultimately have that kick ass rock star life.
What are some words that you need to remove from your vocabulary that are limiting your success, your business and your state? Holler back in the comments below.
-Greg
Top photo by y3rdua
When I’m feeling ambitious I try to avoid the word ‘maybe’. When it comes down to it, it can be right answer but one will usually know the yes or no immediately. Even for simple questions like, “are you coming out tonight”. Maybe.
I like this post. Now I’ll be thinking of others as my day winds down.
Checking back, I used a few of your no-go words. That’s a paddlin’ …
-torbjorn
So true, thanks for reminding me.
This was a great reminder. I’ve recently noticed that I tend to have “normal” sounding thoughts that are very unproductive and often aren’t really even true. For example, I’ll be close to the end of the day and think, “I can’t do this anymore”, or “I don’t feel well”, or, “I have to get out of here”.
All of these are reactions to me being uncomfortable. I’m learning to just be uncomfortable. The more I tend to give in to these knee jerk reactions of discomfort, the less I get done. The reality is that I’m really not feeling bad, tired, or unhealthy, my brain simply doesn’t want to follow through and finish a task.
I’m trying to retrain my vocabulary, too. I’m doing this by asking myself different questions like, “How could this be more fun?” “How could I enjoy this more?” or, “What reward can I give myself once this is finished?”
Oftentimes just by finding a solution to these, my mood changes. I can put on some music, or find a fun way of doing something or look forward to a reward. It is silly, like training a toddler, but most of the time, I feel like that is what mind training is like! Training a naughty child to stop throwing a fit, sit still, and eventually enjoy itself. :0)
It is not only vocabulary, I think it is a way of thinking. When you are working a low income dead end job, it is very difficult to imagine better opportunities because you don’t connect with people at the higher income levels.
For example, there are people that own islands, yachts and private jets. That type of lifestyle is like a fantasy to most people (me included). It is only something we see on TV. Working and earning on that income level is entirely different then what it takes to work an entry level job. A person earning $100 million dollars per year is not working a thousand times harder than someone earning $100,000. It is a different way of working and thinking.
You can’t move up to a higher career and income level by doing what you did before regardless of how hard you work. You need to change your thinking.
Love it dude. Agree a Gazillion percent. One of the first articles on my blog was on exactly this! Good money baby!!