Are you having a bad day because you just can’t get things done that you know you should?
Maybe you’re supposed to do your first budget today. Or make your personal development plan.
Perhaps you’re struggling to squeeze out fresh ideas for your blog.
Or you don’t feel like lifting your gorgeous body up from the couch and doing a workout.
Do the laundry, wash dishes, or clean the rooms.
We all have days like this.
If you have one of those days, let me suggest one trick.
It has gotten me over the first hurdle of my 100-Day Challenge.
It might do the same for you.
The trick is:
Remove one word and change the story you tell yourself.
And the words are “but” and so”.
The former (“but”) is an excuse-inducing word. The latter (“so”) does the opposite.
I’ll show you how.
One Word: But…
In the past, you’ve likely stopped yourself from doing something with “But…”
I want to start my own business, but…
I want to lose weight, but…
My boss is really supportive, but…
“But” is such a simple word.
Yet it is so powerful that it changes how we see things and behave.
“I want to start my own business, but it’s hard because I work full-time.”Â
It’s a common story we tell ourselves. “But” stops us from taking a chance and, therefore, action.
The word “but” reinforces us to find all the reasons why we shouldn’t start a business.
Now, compare this with “so.”
I want to start my own business, so I’ll spend one hour every day researching the opportunities and learning about them.
The moment we choose “so,” our perspective changes.
And this new perspective spurs us to take action.
Research a new business opportunity, seek out successful people in the same field, and learn everything you can about them, their success, and so on.
Here’s another example.
“I want to lose weight, but I find it really hard to control my appetite.”
Replacing “but” with “so” turns to:
I want to lose weight, so I’ll start drinking more water.
You can see the vast difference between the two words and their effects.
How I Used the Right Word
Just a day after I started the 100-day shipping challenge, I thought about changing it to 30 days.
“I really want to write every day and see what happens, but I might be setting myself up for failure—100 days is a bit too much!”
It was an excuse- and fear-induced story I told myself and therefore tried to wiggle out of it.
That was bad.
And I replaced “but” with “so” and changed the story:
I really want to write every day and see what happens, so I’ll just focus on one day at a time since thinking 100 days ahead is overwhelming!
Going from A to B…
When we embark on our journey from A to Z, pursuing our goals, we know our ultimate destination is Z.
There’s no way for me to complete 100-Day Challenge without Days 2, 10, 40, and so on.
I can’t jump from Day 1 to Day 100.
And the only thing that stops us from reaching where we are now and our destination Z is the story we tell ourselves and the picture we have in our brain.
If we constantly think about how far Z is, we feel the heavy burden of the long distance.
We get discouraged and overwhelmed.
Once you have a destination in Z, draw up a meticulous roadmap that maps out the routes from A to Z and focus on moving from one dot to the next.
Sure, we may get lost between D and E.
But as long as we figure out how to reach the next dot and keep moving from dot to dot, we’re going to reach our destination Z.
Find “So” Everywhere
When you get lost or tired on your road trip towards your destination Z, the word “so” can become a powerful tool.
Your “so” will help you find ways to gather strength and courage to keep going despite temporary setbacks.
Because the story you tell with the word “so” invokes ultra-positive actions and mindsets, unlike the word “but,” which restricts your action.
Final Thoughts
“So” finds you ways to reach your destination Z. Â
“But” finds you all the excuses not to.
Find “but”s in your vocabulary while pursuing your goals and replace them with “so”s, and see stark contrast in the stories you tell yourself.
Which one you choose today will vastly affect the way you spend your time and your attitude toward the effort you put in to achieve your goals.Â
Choose the right word and tell yourself the right story.
And, most of all, let’s keep shipping so you and I can continue the journey to reach our destination.
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