Watch Your Words: Hard vs. Challenging

Matt Horwtiz, Luquillo, Puerto Rico - 2009

Luquillo, Puerto Rico – 2009

The words you and I speak reflect our beliefs… mostly unconscious.

Most people are not aware of what comes out of their mouth.  Therefore, they are not aware of their life-directing beliefs.

Our language can be a guide, a stepping stone to growth.

When you pay close attention to what you say, you can find things in your psyche that need adjusting.

Click play to listen to this post…

Take for example the word “hard”.

Many find that they use the word “hard” too often… and in doing so, are damaging their personal growth.

“Hard” is rigid, stuck in place, immovable.

When we tell ourselves that something is “hard”, we really shut ourselves off to the potential of it happening.

Even if it’s not what we want, the unconscious seeks to make it true in our experience.

The unconscious isn’t good or bad.  It simply does what it’s told.

Imagine a friend tells you the following:

“It’s hard to learn another language.”

“It’s hard to find people who are into the same things I am.”

“It’s hard to find work that connects with my passions.”

How do those feel?

They felt pretty shitty, right?  Exactly.

That person has no interest in even trying.  They simply think “that’s the way it is” & “there’s nothing I can do about it“.

Now, see how these feel:

“It’s challenging to learn another language.”

“It’s challenging to find people who are into the same things as I am.”

“It’s challenging to find work that connects with my passions.”

They feel possible, don’t they?

Our attitude changes: “Yes, it’s challenging, but I’m going to make it happen!”

“Challenging” is approachable, attainable, something to work towards.

Plus, challenging things, once learned over time, become easier.

In the past, it used to be hard for me to find people who shared similar interests… I decided to make it a challenge instead.

Once I changed my beliefs & I started taking action, then gradually over time, I cut out people who didn’t align with my values and I began seeking out positive people that I wanted in my life.

Remember, hard things usually remain hard.  Challenging things can be conquered.

Practice removing “hard” from your speech and replace it with “challenging”.

With effort, you’ll remove a shitty belief from your system and replace it with an empowering one.

Then, allow the unconscious to help guide you in making those statements true…

But don’t forget the second half of the equation: you must take action.

Be patient… the results speak for themselves.

I'm a location-independent entrepreneur, passionate about life-long learning & personal development. Spiritual vantage point and a systems-thinker. Read more about me here: More details.

4 Comments

    • Matt Horwitz

      June 9, 2013 at 9:30 am

      For me, I think of speech as constant “freudian slips”, or rather, a lens into the subconscious… so I’m always paying attention to what comes out of my mouth.

      If I realize that it’s a shitty belief, then I start to speak differently and allow time to do its thing.

      That’s a good list by Tim. “Success” and “happiness” are good words to either avoid, or create our own definition for. I’m pretty sure I have a good definition of “success” for myself, but I’ll be honest… I have little idea of what “happiness” really means yet… it’s quite an ambiguous word.

      Reply
  • Lisa

    July 12, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    Thanks for this perspective. It is a helpful reminder to choose our words wisely and not over generalize either.

    Side note: a few spelling errors listed – challening (9th line section from bottom) and unconsoiucs (3rd line from bottom)

    Reply

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