Welcome back to Episode #35 of The Daily Interaction podcast. Today’s topic is on 10 Phrases to Ban from Your Vocabulary. I talk to you about the negative, opposing, yet seemingly innocent thoughts and phrases that we use without even knowing or thinking about them and their underlying impact every single time. I want to challenge you to ban these self-limiting thoughts and phrases from your vocabulary and don’t be surprised if it drastically enhances your life.
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Guess Who is the Fresh Voice This Episode:
Peter James Sinclair, the fresh voice for this episode, runs a fabulous blog called Motivational Memo. He is a great entrepreneur who has also turned his children into budding entrepreneurs. I find that completely unique about him and something to model in your life if applicable. You can find him at Motivational Memo. In fact, on March 23rd, I have a guest post up on Motivational Memo: Motivation is Not Out There: Start Looking Within. Thank you, Peter!
And there is another surprise Fresh Voice for you during the podcast that you won’t want to miss! All I can say is that I have listened to that and laughed every time for at least a dozen times! Thank you, Angela!
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Your Weekly Friday Show Notes:
Let’s get on with our 10 phrases, shall we? Just as you eliminate things and thoughts to get clarity, focus and renewed perspective on life, you should eliminate words and phrases that do nothing but harm you in the short and long term.
1. “I am not good enough.” – Why do you even make this decision before you even give yourself a chance? Or else why punish yourself indefinitely for something that may have happened in the past?
Instead, I want you to say: “I may not know who to do this, but I can figure it out, I can learn, I can find the answers, I CAN do it.” Or simply: “Yes, I am enough.”
2. “I don’t have a choice” – Yes you do. You always have a choice. Except the very rare circumstances, there is always a decision to be made and you make that, even by declaring that you don’t have a choice, you are still making a decision, albeit a poor one. When you say this, you strip yourself of all power and control over your life and play the victim. Don’t do it. Ban the phrase.
Instead, I want you to say: “I have a choice and I made this one.”
3. “I can’t do that – I don’t have any willpower.” – When you say that, you assign status to yourself and you have no idea, by the way, how long and far your will power can go. Willpower is a state of mind. Don’t let your own mind to get in your own way.
Instead, I want you to say: “I am going to do this.” “I will give it my best shot.” Or my other suggestions.
4. “It’s their fault – they are to blame.” – This is only momentarily making you “feel good” while at the same time, you are completely disarming yourself from all control and responsibility and accountability for your own life. Don’t try to put other people down in order to feel better. These feelings will never serve you well in getting you what you want.
Instead, I want you to say: “I am responsible for my own life.”
5. “I wish I could do that.” – Why don’t you then? What is stopping you from doing that? Saying this takes away all your chances of actually doing the thing in question. You play the weak victim of circumstance instead of working on how you can actually do that yourself.
Instead, I want you to say: “I plan on doing that.” “I might just do that – that sounds interesting.”
6. “They just got lucky.” – That is not the explanation for other people’s success and wealth. You do not possibly have enough information to make that statement. When you say that about others, you show your jealousy and also make the success all about these outside factors that you cannot control, and therefore, sadly, they cannot happen to you.
Instead, I want you to be happy for the other people’s success: “I am very happy for them.”
7. “Everyone would …” – How do you know how “everyone” would react? That’s a lot of people. You have no idea how the whole world will react to your decisions or your actions. Most likely, few care as much as you. It also brings such a heavy weight on your shoulders and you don’t need to carry this weight. Be less judgmental and more embracing of the world around you.
Instead, I want you to say “It’s possible most – or some – people would react this way.”
8. “I am busy – I don’t have time.” – Everyone but everyone is busy but we still choose what to do with our own time. I just don’t like how I seem when I am seriously busy and rushed, but the truth is, we always make time for the things that matter to us, even when we are madly busy. So in fact, you just don’t want to make time for that particular activity in question.
Instead, I want you to say: “I am just over-committed right now.” “I am not able to make time right now.”
9. “I will get to it someday.” – Someday doesn’t exist on the calendar and when you don’t put a time frame around your wishes and dreams, then it’s far less likely to happen. Even if it’s a year out, it still gives you something to look forward to with a definite date.
Instead, I want you to say: “I’ll get to it in June or next year around summer time….”
10. “If only …” – This regretful, nostalgic way of looking at your life, and especially the past and all the people who affected our lives. If only phrase robs you of any power of the present and probably the future, and you go back into this blame mode instead of accepting things for what they are and not being in a wishful-thinking state.
Instead, I want you to say: “This is what happened – this is where I am now. And we can’t change what happened but we can change what’s happening right now.”
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I am Farnoosh, the founder of Prolific Living. So glad you are here. My mission is to empower you to unblock your creative genius to live your dream life.