The Power of "Yet"

Over the last few years I have been working on being consciously aware of my internal talk track. Listening to the thoughts that go through your head objectively and making a conscious decision to control what you hear and think can make a huge impact on where you end up in life. One of the words I incorporated that has helped tremendously is "yet". 

Far too often we say things about ourselves as if we were not a dynamic person. As if personality traits and situations are permanent. This is a dangerous but very common pattern of thinking. 

"I'm not a gym person"

"I don't have much money"

"I don't have the discipline to get up early" 

I used to say things like this to myself all the time. And surprise, surprise, nothing ever changed. After years of reading and studying about the impact of thinking on my actions, I noticed and made one minor adjustment. I started to incorporate the word "yet" into my internal talk tracks. I am not sure if I picked this up somewhere or if it was just a random thought to try using this word. Either way, it transformed the way I thought about myself in situations where I had not yet achieved my goal.

​By throwing in the word "yet" I am acknowledging that I am not yet there, but will be at some point in the future because I am taking action now. This is an important thing to be programming into your subconscious. 

"I do not have the money for that, yet"

"I am not a morning person, yet" 

"I do not have the discipline to do those things, yet"

By just making this minor adjustment, I found it easier to stay positive, motivated, hungry and on track to my goals. To me, using "yet" feels more realistic than the "fake it till you make it" strategy where you say things as if you are already there.

So give it a shot and see what you think. Hopefully it helps you as well.