“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragements, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” ~ Yehuda Berg

Words are powerful; they speak loudly to our subconscious and can set things in motion when we don’t even realize that it’s happening. Take control of your destiny and claim 2015 as your year by changing these common words or phrases immediately!

Your brain remembers the active words in your vocabulary, so every time you use them you’re programming your subconscious without even recognizing it. Choosing your words carefully will allow you to control your destiny and in turn, fulfill your dreams.

If you make these simple changes you’ll feel much more in control of your life and most certainly, notice many positive transformations occurring around you.

FORGET: Are you someone who habitually forgets things? Do you forget where you put your keys, overlook appointments or all too often leave something important behind as you rush out the door? Then this is one for you! Let me guess, you tell yourself over and over, “Don’t forget . . . .” and you still fail to remember things. I see this one all the time, even major companies use it in advertising! It makes me crazy!! Forget is the active word in the sentence, so essentially what you’re telling yourself is to forget, which is typically what happens. Make this simple change and say, “Remember the . . . .” or “Remember to. . .” remember is the active word. Using remember programs your subconscious to do just that, remember.  Replace “forget” with remember!!

HOPE: Hope is something we’ve all been taught to seek and hold on to.  It seems like a good thing, right? Being hopeful is a fine thing, however when you use the word hope as in “I hope everything will be ok” or “I hope it happens”, you’re giving up control of the situation.  Let me give you an example, I was very sick several years ago. My liver was failing and the doctors were having a hard time figuring out why. After weeks of daily doctor visits and such I asked my doctor if I was going to be ok. His response was a very heartfelt, “I hope so.” I was devastated and broke into tears immediately; it almost caused me to give up hope! Now, to his defense, he was an excellent doctor and was being honest. What he was really saying was that he was doing everything he and his team could to make sure I would be ok. What a difference it would have made to hear him say, “We will continue to do everything we can to make that happen” rather than, “I hope so.”  Don’t give up control by using the word hope; use a positive action phrase that matches your situation.

TRY: Try is an action word, right? Trying implies that you’ll never actually accomplish what you are attempting to do but you will indeed keep trying.  When you use the word try, you suggest that you don’t think you can do something. There really is no “try”, either you do it or you don’t. Typically when we use the word try, whatever we’re going to “try” to get done, doesn’t. . Change I’ll try to I will (or if you know you’re not going to do something, say so up front, don’t give false hopes or expectations to someone)

SOMEDAY: There is no someday! When we use the word, it implies uncertainty, lack of confidence and an absence of commitment.  If you truly want something or intend to accomplish a task, commit to it and create a deadline. Replace the word someday with a specific date or time, and do everything in your power to achieve that goal.

OVERWHELMED: Being overwhelmed suggests defeat; it implies you’re drowning beneath the devastating weight of something negative. This can be an accumulation of good or bad. For instance maybe you just won an award and you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the well wishes you are receiving. When we’re overwhelmed we lose our ability to focus and conquer what’s ahead of us, we get lost in emotion. Typically we use the word overwhelmed when we have a very demanding schedule which is filled with more tasks than time.  Reframe your thinking, you’re in demand! Think of this in terms of abundance and challenges. Instead of saying, “I’m overwhelmed” say something such as: “I am blessed with plenty of things to do this week”, “I have an abundant schedule” or “There are a plethora of things to choose from”. Replace overwhelmed with words such as plenty, plethora or prosperity.

Put these simple changes into play and claim 2015 as YOUR year! There are many more words that can and should be changed, but these are my top five. Please feel free to comment below with self-defeating words that you intend to eliminate in the brand new year.