As you hit the ground running into 2021, you may be brainstorming about how you will make this year exponentially better than previous years. You may be asking yourself what is THE ONE THING that will help you perform your best this year.
In my book, Heart of a Champion, I write about the power words have in our lives. The One Thing that immediately helped transform my average mindset to a World Champion Mindset was changing the words I used every single day.
Words are powerful. They come from what’s in our mind and heart. Should you be curious to know where you will be in your life five years from today, I encourage you to listen to how you talk to yourself right now. What does your self-talk sound like? Are you a big bully or a best friend to yourself? Are you a constant critic or a cheerleader to yourself? Is your self-talk negative, unproductive, belittling, and demeaning? Or is your self-talk positive, productive, and elevating, focusing on what you can do and what you want to have happen?
Did you know what you think about and talk about most of the time is who you will become?
Negative self-talk and poor word choices hinder mindset. In order to help my mindset, I developed a list of words that I vowed to eliminate from my vocabulary. Then, I identified replacement words which helped me move forward toward my Bold Goals.
The following is a sampling of words I have eliminated and the replacement words I choose to use instead:
Eliminate: Spend – “I’m spending time practicing, spending time doing homework, or spending time with my family.”
Replace with: Invest – “I’m investing time practicing, investing time doing homework, and investing time with my family!” When investing time, you expect an ROI – return on your investment.
Eliminate: Have To – “I have to practice, have to go to school, and have to go to work.”
Replace with: Get To – “I get to practice, get to go to school, or get to go to work!”
Eliminate: Slump – “I am in a slump.”
Replace with: Challenged – “I am being challenged!”
Eliminate: Loser – “I am a loser. I lost, again.”
Replace with: Learner – “I am a learner! I’m learning from my mistakes!”
Eliminate: Don’t – “Don’t be nervous.” “Don’t eat junk food.”
Replace with: What I Want – “What I want is to breathe and stay relaxed!” “What I want is to eat like a World Champion!”
Eliminate: Worry – “I am worried about what may happen.”
Replace with: Focus – “I am focused on what I can control and what I want to have happen!”
Eliminate: Nervous – “I’m nervous about competing.
Replace with: Excited – “I’m excited to be competing!”
Eliminate: Failure – “I did not get the result I desired. I failed.”
Replace with: Feedback – “I am gathering feedback and data! I can do it differently next time!”
Eliminate: Can’t – “I can’t do it.”
Replace with: Yet – “I am not able to do it, YET!”
Eliminate: Need – “I need to win.”
Replace with: Want – “I want to win!”
Eliminate: Just and Only – “I am just a Breakaway Roper. I only have a 2-horse bumper pull trailer.” Please do not minimize who you are, what you have, what you are doing, and what you want.
Replace with: The Facts – “I am a Breakaway Roper! I have a 2-horse bumper pull trailer!”
Eliminate: Perfection – “I am striving for perfection. I have to practice/perform perfectly.”
Replace with: Progression – “I am focused on my progression, taking my next step forward! I want to be the best at getting better!”
GET STARTED TODAY
The first step in performance change is gaining awareness. I encourage you to gain awareness of what your self-talk sounds like which includes the words you choose to use every day. You may want to start a working list as I did.
The second step in performance change is developing strategies. I encourage you to be intentional in choosing positive self-talk and words that will catapult you toward the direction of your Bold Goals. I invite you to challenge yourself in correcting your self-talk and the words you choose to use in “real time” each day.
The third step in performance change is taking action. Talk the talk and walk the walk. Friend, from my heart to yours, merely reading this article will bring you no value, unless you take this information and execute it with immediate action.
I am just like you; I want more in life. However, I have learned that to have more, I must become more. What you say to yourself, how you say it, and the words you choose are greatly important in who you will become and what you will do. I absolutely, positively, one hundred percent guarantee you that digging deeper and doing the work in this area will help you develop a World Champion Mindset.
If you are in a place in your life right now where you are wanting different results, I would be honored to help you. Contact me to begin my 90-day one-on-one coaching program, Master the Art of Winning. We will work together to achieve your Bold Goals. For more information go to DoneneTaylor.com or find me on social media
@ DoneneTaylor .
