Over on Traineo, Podfitness has been posting excerpts from the book The Celebrity Edgewhich you get free if you sign up for the challenge, by the way. Today’s list of tips had one that I particularly liked:
Find A Positive Word. Choose your word, incorporate it into life, and use that word on a daily basis. Choose a word like ’sacrifice’, that will have a positive influence on you and help you reach your goal. Look it up in a dictionary, then apply that word to your life and how it is going to make you a better person and help you move towards your goals. Use that word on a daily basis. Tell people, “You know what? Today, I’m sacrificing this to help me reach my goals.” Focus on one word a week and before you know it, in two months, you’ll have eight positive words that you’ve incorporated into your lifestyle. That’s not only going to help you reach your goals, but it’s also going to make you a better person.
I was thinking about the phrase “I can’t…” As in “I can’t eat that”. That seems to me like a prime place to practice positive parlance!! For example, how about “I’m choosing not to eat unhealthy foods” Or to use the example above, “I’m sacrificing desserts towards my goal of being healthy”. Or even “I’m not eating that” sounds better than “I can’t”. “I’m not” says you’re in charge. “I can’t” implies something else is forcing you. I know that’s what I say every Sunday to the youth that chase me around the church campus trying to get me to eat donuts. (really - those kids are EVERYWHERE) “I’m NOT eating THAT!!” and I laugh while I say it. (They laugh too, by the way)
What other positive words changes can you think of?
Girl, I am so with you on the donuts. They ARE everywhere, they even store them in the nursery sometimes. EVIL…they must be stopped!
Comment by Kellie — March 28, 2007 @ 9:41 am
What a great thing to think about and practice.
Instead of “can’t” we could also incorporate “won’t”. “Won’t places the power in our hands.
Comment by Tami — March 28, 2007 @ 10:20 am
My mother is the queen of “I can’t”. I’m choosing to change my lifestyle! Sometimes I say stuff like, I’d rather spend my calories on better quality chocolate.
Comment by Anita — March 28, 2007 @ 10:24 am
“will” — as in, “I will…”
Comment by anne — March 28, 2007 @ 11:07 am
I don’t think I ever told you, Blest, but when I first read about your weight-loss journey on your other blog, I was struck by your description of your vacation an that you didn’t end up eating dessert. I remember you said something like, “it’s my choice, right?” Most people can’t imagine that type of discipline, but when you see it in light of a choice for a bigger payoff (losing weight,) it makes sense and the negative connotation is gone.
My word: freeing
instead of “I can’t have those desserts,” “It’s so freeing that I don’t feel like I need those desserts since I have changed my eating.”
This is so true, BTW, I still want them and know they taste yummy, but I don’t crave them anymore. How freeing!
Comment by Brandi — March 28, 2007 @ 1:27 pm