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To Reach Your Goals, Try Shifting This One Word

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tuesday

"But" versus "and."

Perhaps you haven’t thought much about these words and their impact.

I hadn’t either until I became more curious about the power of words and how they can affect what’s happening in our body, our emotions, and even our behaviors.

Consider this…

"I want to start that new project, but I’m afraid to take the leap."

"I want to go to the gym, but I don’t really feel like it today."

"I want to change this habit, but it feels too difficult."

Period, the end. Do you sense the hard stop of the word “but”? Say those phrases in your mind and see for yourself how they land in your body. What happens?

“But” can often make us feel like we need to get rid of whatever follows it in order to move forward and take that next step. (If I wasn’t afraid, if I felt like it, if it wasn’t so difficult…then I would move forward.)

So now, consider this…

"I want to start that new project and I’m afraid to take the leap."

"I want to go to the gym........

© Psychology Today


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