What if I told you that you could shift your negative self talk into a growth mindset with one word?
When it comes to thinking about training for an endurance challenge like a triathlon or a race like a 5k, 10k, half or full marathon, you might say things like…
- “I’m not a swimmer.”
- “I can’t even run for 5 minutes.”
- “I can’t exercise for an hour.”
And I get it. It can be scary to think about your goals.
But one word and 3 letters have helped shift that. It’s the word…
Yet.
Next time you catch yourself with the negative self talk, just end your statement with the word yet.
- “I’m not a swimmer… yet.”
- “I can’t even run for 5 minutes… yet.”
- “I can’t exercise for an hour… yet.”
By adding yet to the end of your statement, you make it clear that you aren’t there currently, but it implies that you can get there.
It shifts your mindset from where you currently are to where you want to go.
This principle doesn’t just apply to endurance; it applies to every area of your life.
For me, I am a first time manager at an educational startup company in Iowa. I had been the product owner at the company for 5+ years and now I’m managing other product owners in addition to the product.
As issues would present themselves, my head was full of thoughts like…
- “I’m not a good manager.”
- “I’m not strategic enough.”
- “I don’t know how to handle this situation.”
But using the same “yet” principle, I can add “yet” to the end of my statements and focus on the future growth opportunities.
- “I’m not a good manager… yet.”
- “I’m not strategic enough… yet.”
- “I don’t know how to handle this situation… yet.”
The best part is by adding “yet”, you can accept where you are currently and focus exclusively on what it’s going to take to get where you want to go.