What we say has huge consequences about what we believe, how we act and how other people perceive us. There are certain words that we use on autopilot, so let’s chat about seven words to consider not using if you want to set personal boundaries, own your authority and internalise the changes required to live a slower, more intentional life.
Two Words NOT to Use in Business!
1. Hustle
The word hustle is probably the most important word I’m going to write about in this blog. This is a word that’s incredibly overused, and it’s filled with the opposite of slow living. The hustle culture is something that people link to chasing their dreams. And that’s great, to a certain extent, but it also means you’re internalising that feeling that you need to be busy. Then you start believing that if you’re not busy, you’re not worthwhile, and we all know we are so much more than the work that we do.
2. Entrepreneur
The term entrepreneur and all its forms put a lot of pressure on people. I’m talking about the mumpreneur’s, solopreneur’s, granpreneur’s, womanpreneur’s, teenpreneur’s..say what? I mean what happened to just having a small business? Those of us in business probably just want to create a small part-time income to supplement our family, and to create some sort of fulfilment in the work that we do. The word entrepreneur has this six-figure connotation attached to it, and the last thing we need is to be hustling for that. We don’t need to be calling ourselves entrepreneurs, we can just have a little business and that’s all.
Five Words NOT to Use in Everyday Life!
Then there are a few words that we need to stop using in our everyday lives if we want to own our power and set personal boundaries that fulfill our desire to live a slower life. Read them here, or watch the vlog below if you prefer.
1. Try
The first word is ‘try’. Think back to a time when someone has invited you to attend an event and you respond with “Yeah, I’ll try to make it.” When you use this type of language you potentially come across as being disrespectful. When you say you’re going to try to do something, 99% of the time you’re not actually going to do it. Therefore own your power, own your time, and just say no instead, in a polite way of course (learn 3 ways to respectfully say no here). It’s respectful to you and it’s respectful to them, which is really important to you both.
2. Sorry
The next word not to use is ‘sorry’..stop saying sorry! Instead of saying, “sorry I’m late,” or, “Sorry about that,” flip it, make it into a positive statement and say, “Thanks for waiting for me. I know that I’m a little late, and I really appreciate you being patient.” Transforming this into a positive statement holds so much more value especially if you are late. Saying thank you, rather than sorry smooths out negative feelings, and sets a positive tone for the rest of your time together.
3. Just
The next word we use too much is in written texts such as emails, text messages and even in this blog! That word is ‘just’. “I’m just wondering if you could do this for me,” or, “I’m just wondering how you’re going with that.” Sometimes you do need to ask people legitimate questions and that’s okay to be direct in this case. Straight out ask the question you need without beating around the bush or trying to explain why you are asking the question.
4. Should
Another word that we internalise is the word ‘should’. We use this word on autopilot and it has the connotation of guilt attached to it. We should exercise, we should eat healthily, we should do this or we should do that. When you should do something you probably don’t want to do it. This is when we can start thinking about setting boundaries and rules to prioritise the things you actually want to do.
5. Assume
The last word to reconsider using is ‘assume’. We assume things when we’ve had an interaction with a person and there’s missing information so we assume the information, and fill in the gaps. We assume what they’re thinking, we assume what they’ve said and we assume what they’re going to or what they have done or have not done. There’s a possibility that what you’ve assumed is wrong and often what you’ve assumed is a negative thought about another person. Assumptions are hard to switch off, but you could try to make a positive assumption with good intentions instead.
Think about the ways that these words might be showing up in your life and your vocabulary. Are you using these words, and if you are, is there any way you could reduce or eliminate them. I’m confident that you will feel much more positive about life if you can pinpoint these as the words not to use in 2020. You’ll feel much more in control, you’ll set personal boundaries that you can maintain and you’ll have more ability to create an intentionally slower family life. If you enjoyed this blog and really felt it resonated with you, I’d love to invite you to join my community. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel where you’ll find even more slow living ideas, tips and discussion. And you can also subscribe below to this blog, and I will be able to send you emails letting you know the latest news and updates, including when new blogs and videos are released.
