Do you ever take a minute to listen to the words that actually come out of your mouth or the comments you make to yourself in your head? These comments are very telling of your state of mind, level of commitment as well as your ability to push through barriers. In fact, training yourself to listen to your self-talk can change your performance tremendously. Let’s look at a few words that you may be using in your self- talk that could be limiting your performance in one way or another.
TRY-
“I will TRY”, Imagine being 10 hours from home, you are flying back tonight and you need someone to pick you up at the airport. You call your friend asking if they can pick you up at 10pm. They respond with “ I will TRY”. What does that tell you? That they are lacking in commitment? That they may or may not be there? Is that ok? What stories do you tell yourself using this word? That you will TRY to get to the gym tonight or that you will TRY to become happier? That you will try to run faster? Maybe you will TRY to achieve some major goal in your life?
The power of this word is massive. When you say TRY, you are telling yourself and others that it is ok to not commit, that it is ok to sell yourself short, that it is ok to do less than you are capable of. I challenge you to say” I WILL”. This word can and will change your life.
CAN'T -
“I CAN'T”, Do you tell yourself this? That something CAN’T be done? One thing is for certain, if you tell yourself you can’t, you will absolutely prove yourself right! As they say, CAN’T never did ANYTHING. Instead of saying I CAN’T, say I “CAN” and when you do this, I assure you, you CAN.
NEVER -
“I could NEVER do that!” Really? Have you tried before? O’ you haven’t! Hmmm.. NEVER say NEVER. As soon as you say NEVER, you mentally limit your abilities, you sell yourself short and as with the other words, you will PROVE yourself right! Don’t use this word in explaining your abilities.
FAILURE (FAIL) -
You don’t FAIL until you quit. That is the only FAILURE that is possible. There are only results to your actions. If the result is not what you expected, change your actions until the results meets or exceeds the expectation. You do not fail until you quit! Are you a quitter? I didn’t think so!
BUT -
I want to start working out "BUT"…. (Enter excuse here). I want a better job "BUT"....(Enter excuse here) Everything after BUT destroys what was said before it. How many people want something BUT they would rather have the excuse that limits their ability? How bad do you want something? If you are saying “BUT”, your focus is on the reason you unable to do something instead of focusing your efforts on HOW YOU CAN do something!
IMPOSSIBLE -
“O, that’s not possible!” Ask Mr. Bannaster in 1954 how impossible a Sub 4 minute mile was or how IMPOSSIBLE flying is to the Wright Brothers? When a novice runner starts to run, they may feel that running a marathon is IMPOSSIBLE.. Yet after a few months of training, its absolutely doable! What are you telling yourself that is limiting your ability for GREATNESS. You are GREAT, you are POWERFUL.
The words above BREED INACTION! The words above DESTROY action and without action, nothing can be done. Do you desire change yet you can’t seem to get there? Do you want to reach goals yet you can’t seem to move forward? Have you thought about the stories you tell yourself? That you will TRY or that you CAN’T, that you can NEVER be good or that you are afraid of FAILURE? That you want to do somethingBUT….? You are powerful beyond measure. You are only limited by the beliefs in your mind. You can master your beliefs! You WILL do anything you want because you CAN! I challenge you to rid yourself of these words. I challenge you to make a decision to take action and get what it is you are wanting. Removing these works from your vocabulary will go a long way in getting you there! Replace them with Action driving words!
As Henry Ford once said "whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right!"
Which do you chose?
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