psychology 3 linguistic habits of people who always achieve their goals
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Many people use the turn of the year as an opportunity to make new resolutions. However, these are often thrown into the sea during January. A language expert reveals what people who achieve their goals always do differently – and how you can do it, too.
That's the thing with New Year's resolutions. Some swear by it and others can't do anything with it. Tastes are just different. However, many people use the beginning of the year as an opportunity to set new goals. If the gap between the old year and the new year helps you – even if it is artificial – help you get rid of the baggage, leave it behind and reveal the new version of yourself – do it! If you don't need the turn of the year to implement new goals – that's fine too!
We're now in the middle of January, so it's the perfect time to check in on how things are going with your good resolutions. Have you gotten rid of it a long time ago, are you carrying it out with less and less enthusiasm, or has it already become second nature to you? The latter is the goal for many. But very few of them actually manage to stick to it. However, there are people who always achieve their goals – at least they feel like it. but how? Language expert and Chief Education Officer Maren Pauley from language learning platform Babble showed us what these people do differently – and that it actually has a lot to do with language habits and goal formulation.
Achieving goals? With these three linguistic habits, it works
- Use strong wording
When we set goals, they often say: “I want to exercise more,” or “I want to stop smoking,” or “I want to eat healthier.” Resolutions in and of themselves are fine, but you can be sure to use stronger wording such as “I will…” rather than “I want to.” This way you show yourself that you believe in yourself and that there is no reason to doubt. This leaves as little room for excuses as possible.
- Avoid negativity and negative connotations
This simple rule is important not only when setting goals, but also when it comes to beliefs. Because our brain is simply designed to delete negatives from a sentence. The affirmation “I will no longer doubt myself” quickly turns into “I will doubt myself” because the brain focuses on “doubt.” To overcome this, you can simply turn negativity into a positive statement such as “I will believe in myself.” Words like quit, give up, and delete can quickly discourage you. Try replacing these. It also helps to incorporate the emotional element, to truly empathize with and connect with the target. For example, instead of “I want to avoid animal products,” you could easily say, “I will consume more plant-based products so I can feel healthy and good in my body.”
- UsesMotivating descriptions
A motivating visual description of your goal is important so you can always clearly see why you are doing it. Colloquially, double negatives are often used in German, for example “It wasn't that uninteresting.” This usually brings with it a 'but' in your head and does not create an enthusiastic atmosphere. It's best to orient yourself toward American language culture, where words like amazing, great, astonishing, and wonderful are often used. You can then easily reinforce resolutions with motivating traits: “I will regularly learn Italian so I can order delicious pasta on vacation” or “I will regularly take care of my love relationship and feel grateful and fulfilled.”
Sources used: Babel, psychotoday.com, hellobetter.de
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