Today I want to jump straight in.
First with this statement: Words Matter.
A lot.
I think that we all know that there are some statements, words, phrases, and reframes, that bring a whole lot of energy with them.
Some create negative energy (e.g. “I am stupid.”), and then there are some that light up the sky (and our minds) with passion and possibility.
It is the ‘light up the sky‘ and ‘moving mountains‘ kind we will be focusing on today.
What follows are three of my favourite one-liners to help you get better results in life.
They raise the level of our potential, when they are breathed into life.
So here goes.
The 1st Powerful One-Liner
I use this ALL the time.
I teach it to all of my clients.
This line can also be called a presupposition.
We ‘presuppose’ it is relevant and true.
And therefore it becomes relevant and true.
It is:
“There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.”
The reason this works so well is:
- Most of us have a negative association with the word ‘failure‘, so just the thought elicits a negative emotional response.
- Many people think of failure is a reason to stop doing something.
- If we actually think everything is ‘feedback’, we see it as almost a necessity to succeed.
- It flips the switch on your emotions by turning off a potential stress response, but triggers your curiosity, as you try to interpret the feedback.
- It just feels good (like you are in a caring, for you, universe).
Make it a habit to use this one-liner frequently.
It is a game-changer when aiming for your meaningful goals.
The 2nd Powerful One-Liner
This one-liner was reiterated the other day in a conversation with a friend.
This friend has previously written two books.
Each book took them one (1) year to complete.
With his 3rd book he is still not complete after 5 years!
When I quizzed him why, he talked about people in conversation with him (who haven’t written a book) assuming that you write, when you feel inspired to write in order to produce your most creative work. He heard this from enough people so he thought he would do a sort of experiment where he would write “when he felt most inspired“.
Obviously the “feedback” from this experiment is: the “write-when-inspiration-strikes method” does not work.
He wrote his first two books using a system where he would write at the same time each week and produce an output each week, which eventually added up to a finished book.
Which leads me to my next (favourite) one-line:
“What does not feeling like it, have to do with it?”
This is a great question, which works because it wakes you up (like a pattern interrupt).
It makes you realise that if we only did things that felt good, we would probably have a pretty flat growth trajectory.
Resistance = Growth.
So we NEED to do things when we don’t feel like doing them.
As I alluded to before, the best way to get stuff done, especially a stretch goal, is to SCHEDULE your tasks on a calendar and then complete them (as scheduled) – regardless of how you feel.
The 3rd Powerful One-Liner
This is another question.
The right questions are great because they fire up our upper mind, and frontal cortex.
I imagine that these powerful questions actually pull blood flow and therefore oxygen into the brain, allowing more powerful thinking and strategizing to be undertaken.
Obviously the downside of the power of questions is if you ask a ‘negative’ (or crappy) question, you tap into the same powerful process.
A ‘negative’ question would be like: “Why do I keep failing at everything I do?“
You don’t want to set you mind to that sort of question, as your brain will work really hard to find an answer (even if it is mostly made up of assumption and crappy information).
Here is a MUCH better question:
“What’s the Reality?”
And yes, you have probably heard this from me before (a lot!).
And yes, another great statement is: “Repetition is the mother of learning.”
So you get a two-for-one here.
The reasons that the “What’s the reality?” question works so well is because:
- It gets us out of assumption world (aka: making sh#t up world).
- It broadens the blinkers and view finder.
- It activates the ‘Zoom Out’ button and gives us ‘Perspective‘.
- It flicks the ‘curiosity‘ switch on.
- It actually causes us to PAUSE (as we contemplate the question)and take a few deeper breaths.
BONUS One-Liner’s
Also feel free to add these great one-liners into your repertoire:
- All you need is within you now.
- The past does not equal the future.
- This too will pass.
In Summary
As I said right at the start: Words do matter.
A LOT!
There can be the same number of words and letters in two different statements, and one can lead to peace and the other to conflict.
And to keep things relevant, I am thinking of YOUR inner peace or inner conflict.
Words influence our energy, our autonomic nervous system, our biology, our perspective, our self-identity, our state of mind, our emotional state, and ultimately the results and experience we have in life.
These 3 one-liners if kept handy, at the front of your mind, ready to use at a moments notice, will serve you very well.
My Parting Words
Words matter.
They significantly influence our lives.
For good or bad.
Not only the ones we speak into the world, but perhaps more importantly, the ones we speak internally.
Our inner dialogue.
That landscape definitely benefits from ready-made one-liners, like the ones I have shared.
Choose statements which resonate for you, and then use them often.
Fire and wire those statements in your brain, so they become your ‘first-responders’.
They show up ‘first’ when something happens.
Shaping your thinking and emotions positively and saving you wasted energy and unproductive thoughts.
Which one-liner is your favourite?
If you have some other gems, feel free to share them with me.
So…
Choose a favourite one-liner today, and then experiment with it for the rest of the week to gauge its impact.
Take care,
Carl
PS: Have you read or listened to this book yet? 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be
