Words to Stop Saying Right Now!

Words are powerful. They can either build people up or tear them down. The words you say to yourself can either motivate you toward your goals or delay your progress, or prevent you from even starting your journey. Here are some words and phrases you should eliminate from your vocabulary, along with ideas of what to say instead. Try not to use these words for just one day and see if you feel better and stronger afterward.

1. FAT/UGLY
It’s human nature to be self-deprecating, Women are known of saying, ‘I look fat today’ .In order to form a better self-image, it’s important to stay away from negative adjectives. Stop yourself from using self-defeating talk and make a decision to change it. Instead of the word ‘fat’ use the word ‘getting healthier,’ instead of ‘ugly’ use the word ‘beautiful in my own way.’ You might not believe these words if you use overly positive language, so use something more neutral to replace the negative term.

2.ONLY/JUST
How many times have you caught yourself saying, “I only ran two miles today” .It’s time to stop doing that, avoid thinking of any day as a day to test your character. Whether you run two miles or only three blocks, today is not a statement about you as a person. Take every day as a chance to step forward a little bit. People who achieve their goals don’t see setbacks as failures but as opportunities to develop their skills. So even if you didn’t run as far as you were aiming to on a given day, tell yourself that, regardless of how many miles you ran, any run is better than no run and that you were able to make time in your busy schedule to do something good for yourself.

3.NOT ENOUGH/TOO MUCH
We always think that we’re either too much of the wrong thing or not enough of the right thing. If you ask yourself, ‘Why am I not enough?’ your brain will start to search for the answer, acting like an Internet search. You will find whatever you’re searching for. Reframe your questions so your mind can search for better answers, like asking yourself “Why am I enough?” You will set your brain on the right path and you’ll be surprised with what your mind can come up with.

4.WON’T/CAN’T
When you say things like “I can’t stop eating” or “I won’t lose weight if I don’t exercise” is actually working against you. Stay away from negative language if you are trying to make changes. It is important to fill the mind with the positive ideas and not confuse it with negative terms. The mind will drop the ‘won’t’ or ‘can’t’ and will focus on what you do not want to do. Instead, focus on what you can and will do. Tell yourself things like “I can have one cheat meal a week” or “I will lose weight because I’m working out”. There is only one exception to this which is an actual physical restriction. If you can’t eat something because of food sensitivities or do something in the gym because of an injury, your mind naturally reminds you as a protection mechanism. Still, it’s important to focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t.

5. FAILURE
You want to be the most positive coach to yourself that you can possibly be, calling yourself a failure is a guaranteed way to ensure that you fail in whatever you do. So instead of saying ‘I’m no good’ change it into ‘I am good’ or instead of ‘I’m a failure’ say ‘I have failed in the past, but I will make it this time’. But make sure that you are not lying to yourself also Make sure you leave room for disappointment because If your expectations are perfection, you will set yourself up for failure. Give yourself room to grow, forgive yourself, and be patient.

6.LUCKY
Some days you might feel lucky and that is great, but you should never use luck as an excuse for why you can’t achieve something or to dishonor someone else’s accomplishments by saying they’re lucky. In addition, never compare your life to the lives of people you follow on social media and while you’re envying someone’s arms or abs on social media, don’t tell yourself that they’re lucky, remind yourself that they had to work hard to achieve the body they have and that if you work hard enough you will achieve your goals as well.

7.TOMORROW
You will never get things done if you push things off until tomorrow. People always say, “I didn’t eat well today, so I will start my diet tomorrow.” This will always make you delay things and never really start. Instead, choose a realistic start date and stick to it. You also need a reason to start and not just a start date so you can stay motivated. You need to have a ‘why to’ not just a ‘how to, whether that is losing weight to lower your risk of diabetes, your blood pressure or get fit. Choose a reason and remind yourself of it daily.

8. SHOULD
When you say “I should have gone for a run” makes you feel guilty for not going for a run so instead, say “I choose not to go for a run today” or “I intend to go for a run”. These options are more empowering and give you the decision-making authority. On the other hand, the word “should” makes whatever task you feel like you should do seem undesirable and boring. When you tell yourself that you choose to do something, whether that’s exercising more, being healthy or quit smoking. Your mind automatically makes the task as something that you want to do and not something that you’re forcing yourself to do. So replace the word ‘should’ with words like ‘want’, ‘choose’, ‘intend’ and ‘could’.

9.NEVER
The old saying “never say never” is very true when it comes to reaching your goals because it’s a toxic word that will ruin your progress. For example when you are trying to lose weight, if your thoughts are saying, I will never reach my goal weight, and these words are rotating in your head, it will be impossible to lose weight because you’ve already set yourself up for failure. It will definitely take you a while to reach whatever personal development goal you’ve set for yourself, but it will happen with persistence and patience. Remember to tell yourself positive things instead of focusing on this negative self-talk. Write positive notes to yourself on your mirror like, ‘keep up the good work!’

10.BUSY
When you think you’re too busy to go to the gym or prepare a healthy meal Think again! If you tell yourself, ‘I’m too busy to do something’ you’ll always make yourself right and you’ll be making excuses for yourself. How much longer are you going to listen to yourself? Figure out what your excuses are (like being too busy), and then start asking yourself the right kind of questions. Instead of ‘Why am I too busy?’ ask yourself, ‘Why do I have so much time to do what I need to do?’ Although you won’t feel like you have a lot of time at first, asking the question will lead your brain to search for the answer. The answer might be, ‘Because I can manage my time’ or ‘because I eliminated something nonessential from my schedule and replaced it with something more important’. Keep asking those types of questions, and you’ll surprise yourself with the answers.

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon