Are you listening to yourself?
Your language—the words you use—is a very real indicator of the degree to which you see yourself as a proactive or a reactive individual.
Quick reminder: a proactive person accepts responsibility for their own situation—no matter how dire—and takes the initiative to make things better. A proactive person acts, rather than being acted upon.
A reactive person lets their circumstances and conditions control them. A reactive personal doesn’t act; they’re acted upon. The language a reactive person uses absolves them of responsibility. A serious problem with reactive language is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some reactive phrases to look out for:
There’s nothing I can do.
That’s just the way I am.
He makes me so mad.
They won’t allow that.
I have to do that.
I can’t.
I must.
If only.
Replace reactive phrases with proactive ones:
Let’s look at our alternatives.
I can choose a different approach.
I control how I respond to this.
I choose.
I prefer.
I will.
Words are free—it’s how you use them that may cost you. You are what comes out of your mouth.
