This week’s action revolves around how you talk to yourself. Now don’t act like you don’t talk to yourself; we all do it. It’s only weird when you carry on full-blown arguments with yourself out loud in public. And if you do that, I’m not sure this article is gonna do much to help you.
This week I want you to employ a self-talk strategy whenever you find yourself tempted to do something you know you shouldn’t be doing or avoid something you should be doing. I want you to get in the habit of telling yourself “I don’t.”
In the book “Successful People Think Differently” one of the strategies the author suggests is telling yourself “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.”
There was a research study published in the Journal of Consumer Research where a group of people trying to live a healthier life were divided into 2 groups. One of the groups was told that whenever they were tempted to do something that they knew was unhealthy, to tell themself “I can’t.”
I can’t have dessert.
I can’t eat that.
I can’t skip the gym today.
The other half was told to say “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.”
I don’t have dessert.
I don’t skip the gym.
I don’t eat unhealthy things.
Neither group was successful 100% of the time, but the “I can’t” group reported they were able to avoid the unhealthy behaviors 10% of the time while the “I don’t” group reported that they avoided them 80% of the time. That’s a remarkable difference. I mean if you knew there was a small change you could make in your life that would help you focus on making the right choice 80% of the time, wouldn’t you at least give it a try?
This week, I want you to get into the habit of telling yourself “I don’t” whenever you are faced with a decision to avoid something you know you shouldn’t be doing.
For example, I don’t waste time on unproductive things like social media.
I don’t avoid doing what I know needs to be done.
I don’t spend time thinking about what can’t be done, I focus on what I can do.
I don’t beat myself up for not getting more done, I figure out how to make tomorrow better.
I don’t dwell on the past, I focus on the future.
Give that a try this week and let us know in the comments section below if it makes an impact on you. Also share any other strategies you’ve employed that work for you.
Start telling yourself, you don’t avoid making an impact, you do lead a full life.