How many times a day do you think “I have to…”? I have to go to work. I have to make dinner. I have to go to the gym. I have to go talk to my boss. I have to check in with a client. I have to go to the grocery.
What if – just for a week – you replaced “I have to…” with “I get to…”?
I’ve tried this little mind experiment for a few months now; and I have to tell you: It WORKS! No one is more surprised than I that something as simple as changing one word in my head can change the entire outcome of a day. But it does.
Here’s why it works:
- Our thoughts shape our attitude. As Mike Dooley, founder of TUT’s Adventurers Club and the brilliant author of Notes from the Universe, would say, “Choose the good ones.” If we recognize that we’re privileged to be doing something, we’ll be happier doing it. (And really, when you think about it, we’re privileged to be doing pretty much anything at all.)
- When you realize that you GET to do something, your brain does a little happy dance. You become a kid again, saying “Mommy, I GET to go to RECESS now!”.
- It’s a very specific way to cultivate the “power of positive thinking”…none of this “just think happy thoughts all the time” crap. Swap one word for another. Simple. Helps to have the instruction manual, right?
- You start to focus on the positives in your life…and even the “negatives” become cause for celebration.
- You become oh-so-thankful for the people in your life – even the ones who make things a little difficult sometimes – because you GET to spend time with them!
I know, I know…the “power of positive thinking” and all that stuff sounds hokey. Despite what I do for a living, even I’m a Debbie Downer sometimes, especially in my head. Ditching negative self-talk reduces stress though; so why not give this a go? Consider it a group experiment.
Leave me a comment and tell me how it went.
xo,
