Take The Word "Not" Out Of Your Goals
Let's talk about goal setting. We all do it.
Some of us do it in the form of daydreams and wishes. Some of us do it by writing down what we do and do not want in life. Some of us write down an actual plan to achieve the results we desire.
In general, the people who are most successful in reaching their goals are the people who write them down and create a reasonable plan to achieve them.
However, a lot of us are making a big mistake that is derailing our progress.
Want to hear what it is?
We use the word "not" in our goals. We make goals like "I will not eat junk food for a month" or "I will not buy any new clothes" or " I will not think negative any more".
Do any of these goals sound familiar? I know I'm certainly guilty of framing my goals like this.
Here's a little secret I learned from a Harvard professor during a webinar I watched:
When you use the word "not" in your goals your brain automatically does the opposite of what you intend to do.
Let that sink in for a minute.
The example given by the professor demonstrates the power of this.
Soccer players were told not to look in a certain direction. Their eyes immediately flickered to the direction they were told not to look. It's like an involuntary reaction.
When you make a goal like "I will not eat junk food for a month" your brain automatically changes that to 'I will eat junk food for a month."
As Willie Nelson says:
"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results."
Let's re-frame your goals using positive language instead of negative language.
Change your goals to things like "I will eat healthy this month", "I will buy new clothes when the seasons change", and "I will think positively from now on".
Now I want you to write down your goals. Look at them. Do you use any negative language in them? Re-write all of your goals using positive language. Read them again. I bet you already feel better about them now, don't you? Your goals no longer feel like a punishment. Instead they feel like a gift.
Share one of your goals written with positive language in the comment section and let me know if you found this article helpful.
