Don’t let your buts ruin the goals you have for this new year. So many of us start the year with great ideas for how to better ourselves and make this new year better than the last. Setting goals and intentions for new habits, routines and hobbies is wonderful and we cannot let one simple word get in the way and crush all the dreams for the new year.
The title likely clued you in, and it is important you watch your buts! I am not saying you can never use this word; I am merely suggesting watching how it is used to ensure you mean to negate everything that comes before it.
However saying things like:
I love you, but…
You worked hard, but…
You’re great, but…
Yikes, all of those will put the other person on the defense and likely result in a conflict. If your goal is about improving the quality in your personal or professional relationships, this one word can wreak havoc on your plans.
Rather than the word “but,” try the word “and” like this:
I love you and…
You worked hard and….
You’re great and…
This will keep the lines of communication open and is less likely to result in conflict.
There is another way this pesky word gets in the way. It can quickly derail your behavior goals just like this:
I want to work out, but I am tired.
I want to eat healthy, but it will take too long to prepare.
I want to get more sleep, but I want to watch one more episode.
I should, (fill in the blank with any task you feel you should attend to), but (fill in the blank with the random excuses your brain manifests).
With this next trick, you can use your buts to prevent you from settling for excuses. Flip the sentence and get your buts to work for you like this:
I am tired, but I want to work out.
It will take a long time to prepare, but I want to eat healthy.
I want to watch one more episode, but I was going to get more sleep.
Read these statements – or make your own and feel the difference that happens. Can you feel the shift in your motivation?
When you are mindful of how you use your buts, you will find better motivation and better results.
So, you your buts wisely!
**I hope you were able to appreciate the cheeky humor in this one 😊
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