The Villain Within
“Book Resources.”) I know for me, when I say to myself, “I’m overwhelmed!” it starts to intensify the feeling. I’ve learned to change those words and their meanings in time, and I’ll share my easy-to-implement technique. Before I share it, though, consider the subtle ways in which our bodies reflect our words. I have a friend who, when asked how he is doing, his shoulders slump immediately and he always says, “I’m doing okay.” His body mirrors his words—he looks okay but certainly not good or great. I have another friend who always says, “I’m so damn busy,” but he says it even on weekends when he isn’t busy at all, and immediately I can see him tense up. Contrast their physical reactions to Joel Weldon. Joel is someone I met in recent years, and every time I see him and ask how he is doing, he always says, “Fantastic!” Joel is in his mid-70s, and I watch him perk up every time he says, “Fantastic!” It makes him look vital, engaged, and intensely alive! His eyes light up, and he looks 25 again! He programmed himself to feel good when he says those words, and consciously or not, he is becoming fantastic as soon as he says it. “Fantastic” is Joel’s trigger word, and while trigger words are a good thing, having the right trigger words is a must! So write your trigger words. And as you write them, describe the emotions each word brings out in you. If your trigger word is “stressed,” it could cause all sorts of different feelings besides a sense of being overwhelmed; you might also experience fear, loneliness, self-pity, and so on. Here is the cool part about bringing those words out in the open. You can flip them. Earlier we talked about our ap- pearance—shoulders back, big smile, and eyebrows up. Doing those things alone can make a big difference in your life. Your days will be better with just those minor physical adjustments. But what if you also took all those negative trigger words out of your vocabulary? What if, instead of saying, “I’m over- whelmed,” you say, “I’m busy because I’m blessed with oppor- tunities.” Make it a success habit to catch yourself and the neg- ative word or statements before you say them. Take a moment and use a new word that doesn’t spark those negative feelings.
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