“OH I COULD NEVER DO THAT!”
Ellen (not her real name) blurts this out to me every time she sees me doing a squat at the gym. Every. Single. Time.
I tell her “Oh Ellen, sure you can! I’d never done a squat until I was 60 years old. Heck, I thought a squat was some kind of southern vegetable. It took me six months to do a squat correctly, so don’t despair!”
Ellen doesn’t hear me. She’s hanging out in “I can’t” mode. Every time Ellen says this to me, she is hammering this negative belief a little bit deeper into her psyche.
And guess what? She’s right. Ellen will never do squats. And that’s her choice.
Words count. How we talk to ourselves matter A LOT. They can leverage our success or take us down.
How could Ellen’s life change if she said this instead: “I’m excited to do squats. I’m starting today”.
What about you? Are you saying “Oh yes I can” or “On no I can’t” today? How could your life change if you said:
Oh yes, I can do that hard project at work.
Oh yes I can retire early and start a non-profit.
Oh yes I can manage my emotions better and not let Impostor Syndrome creep in at work.
Yes I can have a better relationship with my body and get off the sugar.
Every day you have a choice. Every hour, every second you can start over and say to yourself “I want to do this! I want to WIN. Right now, I make the decision to cultivate an Oh Yes I Can! mindset.”
Now yer talkin’.