We are finishing our next book, Breakout – 6 Mindsets that Impact Everything. Early on, we introduce the simple concept of Lazy vs Laser. Our book focusses on mindset, but mindset connects powerfully with language and energy.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, lazy means “not willing to work or use any effort.” Laser is described as: “a device that produces a powerful, narrow beam of light that can be used as a tool to cut metal, to perform medical operations, or to create patterns of light for entertainment.” In our current context, let’s run (or skate) with the idea that lazy includes not putting the work into something, while laser has a powerful, cutting impact through the narrowing of an action or focusing energy.
Picture lazy thinking, lazy language and lazy energy. What comes to mind?
Now, picture laser thinking, laser language and laser energy. What now comes to mind? What differences begin to appear?
One word that comes immediately to me is intentionality! Using Future-Positive language instead of Future-Negative language when focusing on a potential issue is a simple way to impact the bank account of our mind's intentionality.
Our next book Breakout (send us a note that you want to know when it is published) uses our ice-arena visual to increase our mindset, language, and energy awareness. Intentionality towards the personal language that we utilize generates a gigantic performance impact!
Ralf Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”
We all tell stories about ourselves to ourselves all day long. Each story guides our mental focus, impacting our mindset and then reciprocally instructing our language.
It is one powerful circle.
How then do we highjack the tendency of this circle to generate positivity instead of negativity? Back to our word, intentionality!
Power Language
In his book The Confident Mind, Dr. Nate Zinsser suggests 5 Rules to impact performance with affirmations. Many of you know that I am an old-professional-athlete. Can I confess to you that I have never liked the word, or the language around “affirmations?” However, I love the idea of Future-Positive “Power Language.”
Dr. Zinsser advises us to intentionally organize our Power Language using the following five rules:
1- Use the First Person - “I am a good leader,” rather than “good leaders are.”
2- Use the Present Tense – “I enjoy competing in close games,” rather than “I am going to get better at playing close games.”
3- Use Positive language – “I organize my activities affectively,” rather than “I no longer waste my time.”
4- Use Precise Language – “I run 4 miles 3 times per week at 7 mile per hour pace,” rather than “I run regularly.”
5- Use Powerful language – “I explode like a bullet through a gun,” rather than “I come out of the gate hard.”
Impacting our language with these 5 rules will take time and practice. One way that I have been focusing on Future-Positive Power Language is to listen for it in conversations or podcasts and then journal what the person could have said if they were following the 5 rules.
Practise writing Power Language statements when you are desiring particular outcomes, specific processes, and changes of character.
Lazy Language tends to have low impact generating little or no performance change.
Laser Language (with lots of practice) increases high performance and loads the mental toughness personal and cultural bank account for times when we need resilience and increased confidence.
Laser Language or Lazy Language… we get what we talk about most of the time!
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