I’m Still Learning from Sesame Street

Transform Your Life With the Power of Yet

One small word can change it all

Do you ever feel like you will never reach your goals? Do you sometimes think that your goals are just too big to reach? Even if you believe in your goals, achieving them might look impossible from where you stand.

Maybe you don’t need new goals. Maybe you just need new inspiration. Here’s an easy way to re-define the goal and your progress, with one short and incredibly powerful word.

The Power of Yet

Yet is a formidable word. It implies that there is still time, that things are happening, even if the end is not in sight. Yet reminds you that there is still time for change. It helps you remember the progress you have made already. Yet can transform your attitude, from negative to positive, in a few small steps.

Transform Your Self-Talk

Adding yet to your self-talk changes your perspective. Just look at these examples:

• ‘I haven’t found my dream job’ becomes ‘I haven’t found my dream job yet’
• ‘I don’t have the qualifications for that job’ becomes ‘I don’t have the qualifications for that job yet’
• ‘I don’t own a house’ becomes ‘I don’t own a house yet’

In each example, ‘yet’ implies that change is coming. I don’t own a house yet, but I have already saved $10,000 towards my down payment. I haven’t found my dream job yet, but I am already working in the field that I like and gaining experience. I don’t have those job qualifications yet, but I am taking courses towards my degree.

It works just as well in your personal life. ‘I’m not over my last relationship’ quickly becomes ‘I’m not over my loser of an ex yet, but I am rediscovering who I was before that relationship a little more every day.’

Now you try it. Change one piece of negative self-talk by adding yet. See the difference?

One Small Step Forward

Once you have restated your challenge using ‘yet,’ think about what you might do next. Choose small steps. Can you save a bit more each month towards your dream house? Take one online course to improve your job qualifications? Make the step small, relatively easy, and with a clear endpoint. Work on this step until you complete it, then choose the next one.

Choosing steps and then completing them puts you back in control. Suddenly you are not at the mercy of hidden forces. You are the actor, and your actions create progress.

Joanna chose to read 10 ads for the job she wanted and make a list of the top skills and attributes she would need. She gave herself 2 weeks to do it, promising herself a long hot bubble bath as a reward at the end. After completing that step, her step was deciding in which order and how she would build those missing skills, allowing 1 week for this task.

Imagine Your Success

Recent studies have shown that imagining a positive scenario creates a more positive outlook. Images are even stronger than words. Imagine yourself completing your small step. Picture yourself speaking confidently in your next interview, walking into your new home, or speaking confidently in a meeting. Top athletes call it sport visualization. Bill Bodri’s book, Sport Visualization for the Elite Athlete describes how top athletes from Tiger Woods to Mohammed Ali have used this technique, picturing themselves executive the perfect move over and over in their heads, until it becomes second nature in their brain. As you apply it, you change your attitude from ‘I can’t’ to ‘this is what it looks like when I do.’

Changing your attitude with the power of yet works at any age. Don’t believe me? Watch this Sesame Street video and then tell me that you aren’t inspired!