The power of words – Motivated to do things in 2011…or not?!

So, here we are in 2011. Wow, it seems as though it was yesterday that I wrote a blog article and it was October. I must resolve to post more often in 2011.

I wonder if I will?

The “must” word is, for me, an indicator that, in fact, I will still post infrequently.

The words we use are powerful and influence our conscious and unconscious minds far more than we think. In NLP we call the group of words below Modal Operators. For our purposes, we can think of them as fascinating influences on feelings and ultimately on behaviour!

Experiment.

Think of something that you have decided to do…at some point. It can be something very grown up and important such as create a new strategy for marketing or something simple such as putting up a shelf or doing the ironing. The task in itself is secondary.

Now pay attention to the words you use when you think about this task.

You may say to yourself :-

• I must do…
• I should do…
• I ought to do…
• I may do…
• I might do…
• I could do…
• I’ll try to do
• I Will do…
• I can do…
• I’m going to do…

Notice how each of those statements has a different impact on how you feel and indeed on your motivation level to get the job done.

Which is the least motivating?

Many people find that should and ought are low in motivation and even trigger polarity feelings of resistance and negativity toward the task.

A recent client observed that when he used these words about finishing an important work document “It’s sort of like someone else, like an old teacher is telling me what I SHOULD do and I think B****KS Why should I ?!!!!”

“I’ll try” is an almost certain signpost to inaction and, for me personally, in the case of the ironing a certainty that clothes will remain crumpled.
When clients tell me they will try to use the tools that they have learned, we extend the session to explore why the word has been used and get to a point where a different one springs to mind!!

Think about it. If you ask a teenager to tidy their room and they tell you that they will try to do it before the end of the month, you sort of know it won’t happen!


The brain responds differently to different words and try seems to be a small, innocent 3 letter word that gets the internal gremlins responding with “ Yeah, right, so THAT’S really going to happen then… NOT !”

How about you? Notice a similar effect?

Increased motivation?

Words such as could and might, for many people, increase the possibility of the job being done. Clients comment that they feel more in control and confident when they use these words.

The words that work best for me…. And it IS personal are “Will , can and top of my list…I’m going to!”

When I say to myself “I’m going to do the ironing….” its a done deal and I’m on my way, it is certain, already in motion somehow and feels strong and definite! Ironing, here I come.

Be mindful of the words you use on the inside, in your own thoughts, and on the outside when communicating with others. If part of your role is to motivate others, notice the impact of different words on first of all your, and then their state and on their behaviours.

Above all have fun with the power of words in 2011 !

So, where was I, ah yes, blogging in 2011, I’m going to post more often.

Now watch this space!