My phrase that will change your mindset…
…and take back control of your life.
I will never make promises I don’t believe in. I would never dream of it.
So, when I say that I’ve found one phrase that has changed my mindset and given me back some control over my life, I simply must share it with you.
Have you ever heard someone (or yourself) say, “I want to wake up early and have a morning routine, but I’m just not a morning person…”?
“I’m just not a morning person.” Yikes, that makes me cringe. Why?
I don’t care if you wake up early; that’s not what this issue is about. I cringe because you are not a morning person or a night owl. You are not a lazy person and you are not a productive person. Those are feelings you have, not defining traits about you.
We are not how we feel or what comes more naturally to us. We are just people who make choices.
Stop declaring that you are your feelings.
Rather, own your choices. How do we do this? By working my one powerful phrase that will change your mindset into our vocabulary:
“I choose…”
We have to start owning the choices we “defaulted” to and owning the choices of which we are proud. We do this by catching ourselves when we are about to act like “we can’t help it” and re-writing the story in our brains (or out loud) with “I choose.”
Default choices:
“I choose to ignore my alarm today.”
“I choose to scroll for an hour before getting up.”
“I choose to make that purchase for the wrong reasons.”
“I choose to procrastinate on that project.”
Owning default choices proves to yourself that life isn’t happening to you, you are actively creating your life. Default choices aren’t always bad, sometimes we need to ignore alarms and give ourselves rest. But we can’t remain under the illusion that “we are who we are” or we don’t know what to do. We know what to do, we just have to choose it when we don’t feel like it.
Proud choices:
“I choose to wake up early.”
“I choose to drink water and coffee before picking up my phone.”
“I choose to save money even though it means a sacrifice.”
“I choose to do tasks I don’t enjoy to stay on top of things.”
Owning proud choices is like giving ourselves a gold star.
That reward entices us to continue making choices we’re proud of rather than choices we default to. It’s a beautiful cycle of making more and more choices we love. The best part? All of those proud choices will, one-by-one, create the life of your dreams!
When we own our choices by intentionally saying, “I choose…” a few beautiful things happen:
- We regain control over our lives. We remind ourselves that we have a choice in how we respond to everything. Life doesn’t happen to us. Our feelings don’t call the shots. You call the shots.
- We demonstrate to others that we have boundaries. “I made this decision, and I am not looking for your input.” Whether it’s strangers on the internet, too many relatives around the holidays, or a pushy friend — saying “I choose” signals to others that you know what’s best for you.
- We stop doing things that we really don’t want to do. You’ll kick that habit, get to that project, and enjoy how you use your time. Choose to start dating again? Own it. Choose to work out 3 times a week? Own it. Choose to wake up earlier? Own it.
Life is too short and precious to spent time doing things we aren’t proud of and chalking it up to “that’s just the way it is.” You are the leading lady of your own life. You call the shots. You make the choices.
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