One day, during lunch break, a wood flooring installer opened his lunchbox, pulled out two sandwiches, hoisted them aloft and cried to the heavens in anguish, “Not peanut butter sandwiches again! This is 10 days straight!”
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One day, during lunch break, a wood flooring installer opened his lunchbox, pulled out two sandwiches, hoisted them aloft and cried to the heavens in anguish, “Not peanut butter sandwiches again! This is 10 days straight!”
His coworker said, “Say, if you don’t like peanut butter sandwiches, why don’t you ask your wife to make you something else?”
“You leave my wife out of this,” he replied. “I make my own lunch!”
We all make our own sandwiches and too many of us make sandwiches that we don’t like to eat. Negative elements take root in our professional lives because we allow ourselves to get caught up in an endless cycle of excuses instead of taking action. Here are three ways to take control of what’s in your lunchbox.
1) Prune the word “but” from your vocabulary
It’s just as important to weed your mind as it is your physical surroundings, and the most effective way to do this is to prune the word “but” from your vocabulary. Changing what comes out of your mouth and what you say to yourself can give you a new outlook.
2) Don’t be an excuse enabler
There is nothing positive or productive to be gained by making excuses or by repeating them. Repetition gives them credibility and allows them to continue to drain you and others. Choosing to take responsibility for your actions, your happiness and your attitude frees to you to move on to bigger and better things.
3) Learn to recognize cognitive dissonance
Oftentimes the only way to get off your “but” is when the results become so positive or so painful you are forced to take action. Psychologists refer to this as the Cognitive Dissonance Theory: either something brings you so much joy or causes you so much pain and sorrow that you have no choice but to change your behavior. If you keep repeating the same excuses rather than taking action, then you aren’t at this point yet. Benjamin Franklin said, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
When we allow ourselves to associate with thankless, negative, or even unethical people, they poison us. It’s not their fault; it’s ours. When we lack the discipline or self-esteem to break a negative habit, instead clinging to our big “buts,” we poison ourselves. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” For things to change, first you must change, so eliminate the three-letter “b” word from your vocabulary, because a big but doesn’t look good on anybody.
Tracey C. Jones is a U.S. Air Force veteran, entrepreneur, speaker and publisher. She speaks to audiences across the nation on leadership, accountability, business success and other topics. Her latest book is “Beyond Tremendous: Raising the Bar on Life.” To learn more, visit www.tremendoustracey.com.
