Rented a Smart Car last week while on a quick trip to Nashville.

You know, the little toaster-oven sized two-seater cars?

Thought it would be fun. Turned out to be an absolute nightmare to drive on the freeway.

You live and you learn 😂

Also wanna give a huge thanks and shoutout to this week’s sponsor for supporting Habit Examples:

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“I’m stressed”.

“I’m so jealous”.

“That’s just how it’s done”.

These are just a few of the 16 phrases Greg Isenberg, a serial founder and entrepreneur, has erased from his personal dictionary

Scientists have determined Greg has about 50,000 thoughts per day.

Of those, around 35,000 to 40,000 tend to be negative.

Only there’s one secret:

That’s not just true for Greg… it’s true for all 8 billion humans on planet Earth.

Don’t ask me how they were able to count people’s thoughts in a lab, but the point is, Greg has taken a highly active approach at curating positive comments in his head, and deleting the negative ones.

So what does he say instead?

1. Greg replaced “I’m so stressed” with “I’m taking it one step at a time.”

2. “I’m so jealous” is now “Wow, that’s inspiring!”

3. “I can’t” became “How can I?” (I’ve heard others who say “I can’t YET” or simply “I’m still learning to ___”)

4. Instead of “That’s just how it’s done”, he says “What if there’s a better way?”

5. Greg says there’s nothing more lame than saying “I don’t disagree”. Either agree, or don’t, or ask for more information so you can form a solid stance.

He attributes these tiny changes to a 10x improvement he’s experienced in his relationships and career.

A few phrases I’ve changed in my own life are:

1. “I forgot” swapped for “I just remembered”. (Literally both are true, but one feels better!)

2. When it makes sense, I say “Thank you” instead of “Sorry”.

3. Instead of “You should _____”, I try to say “you could _____”. People already have plenty of regrets and expectations on them. You can share your idea, but there’s no need to state your suggestion as an obligation.

4. Instead of “I should have”, or “I wish I would have”, I’ve been practicing saying, “Next time I’ll ____”.

5. Biggest of all, Bryan Harris recently taught me to challenge thoughts like “that seems unlikely” or “that’s impossible” with the question, “what would it take?” (It’s incredible how much it instantly shifts your mind from problem seeking to solution seeking)

Words that may seem so small and insignificant can drastically shape the way we think about ourselves and others.

Sometimes it feels like these negative thoughts or comments that pop in your head are beyond your control.

What is within your control is what you think next.

So don’t just let those thoughts sit there… swap them for something better.

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Try it

Next time you find yourself repeating a negative cliché, swap it out for the positive alternative.

Pay attention to the common phrases you use that are unnecessarily negative. Ask yourself, “How can I be true to the principle of what I want to say, while also being kind to myself and optimistic about the future?”

What’s phrases have you intentionally changed? Hit reply and let me know!

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- Kody

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P.S. These take 5 hours to research, write, and design. It only takes you 5 seconds to share.

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