Penny Casselman [00:00:00]:
Let's stop the negative phrases and start being deliberate with our words to ensure that when our brains get hijacked with questions, that they are purposeful, they are intentional, and they are crafted to support every positive thing that we want out of life. And I hope that through our discussion today, you pick up a few tips and tricks about how you might move forward in your life to help you choose words wisely and use them for the power that they offer us. Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life. Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities.
Penny Casselman [00:01:06]:
Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Hello, my friend. I am so excited to be sliding into your podcast lineup this week. Thanks for having me. If you are new to the show, welcome. I'm thrilled that you showed up for yourself, that you showed up to maybe get a new little piece of insight. And if you've been with me for a while, here's a question. When are you going to leave a review? If you have ever walked away from this podcast and had a new thought, a new idea, a spark of creativity or bravery or taken action or designed your vision or felt empowered to go after what it is you want in your life, I would love to hear about it.
Penny Casselman [00:02:04]:
And it would help me if you left a review for others to see the amazing possibilities for themselves. So tuck that one in the back of your pocket and think about when this week you'll make that happen. In 1993, there was a study conducted with 40 1,000 participants. They were split up into equal parts test group and control group. The control group was just monitored on their purchase behavior while the test group was posed one simple question. Are you going to purchase a car in the next 6 months? That was the experiment. And maybe not surprising was this outcome. The people who had been asked the question, are you going to purchase a car in the next 6 months, compared to the people who were just monitored showed a 35% increase in their purchase rates for a new car.
Penny Casselman [00:03:10]:
Maybe that's shocking to you, maybe not. I found it extremely eye opening. Think of the power just that simple question asked once. Those people's brains started the thoughts of, wow. Well, I hadn't thought about getting a new car. Maybe I need one. Well, let me think about my car. Well, let's look at what's out there.
Penny Casselman [00:03:34]:
Their brain took over, and this is exactly the topic that I want to dive into today. You see, our brains must answer questions, and they must answer them to support what we pose. Remember at the top of the episode when I asked, when are you going to write a review? I wonder if by just posing that question, I might see a 35% increase in people who actually take the action and do it. So fingers crossed. We'll see. This topic is very top of mind for me because last week, specifically Wednesday, I had a crappy start to my day. Crappy. And I need to tell you this because I might have a podcast.
Penny Casselman [00:04:25]:
I might deliver insights that you have never heard before or make you think a little differently, but make no mistake that I am no different from you. I still wake up and struggle some days. I won't choose the right words. I will take actions that probably are not in alignment with what I really want to go after. So last Wednesday was definitely one of those days. And the question that I posed to myself when I was feeling utter despair was where did I go wrong in my life? That was literally the question I asked and and I just let it sit there. My friend, I will tell you the minute I pose that question to myself, my brain unleashed the floodgates of answers. And of course, it just took me down the drain.
Penny Casselman [00:05:25]:
My brain started serving up to me every example it could pull from to show me where I went wrong. Have you ever done that? Have you ever perhaps posed that question to yourself? Maybe like me, you too found yourself circling the drain as your brain served up every single negative thing you have ever done to prove and support your idea that, yes, you did go wrong. So what's going on when your brain gets asked a question? The first thing is your brain gets hijacked. Simply posing a question kicks your brain into an automatic mode where its mental reflex is called instinctive elaboration. But today, I want to explore how we can stop hijacking our efforts in going after a phenomenal life. Because asking yourself a question like, where did I go wrong? Let's stop the negative phrases and start being deliberate with our words to ensure that when our brains get hijacked with questions that they are purposeful, they are intentional, and they are crafted to support every positive thing that we want out of life. Now I'm not saying that you won't be sad some days that I don't have bad days. Clearly, this past Wednesday was definitely one of those days where I had to sit and feel all the feels.
Penny Casselman [00:07:12]:
But because I am committed to personal development, because I am committed to showing up every day in the hopes of being the best version of myself and moving my dreams and vision forward. I recognize when I fall into those negative questions, I more quickly realize I need to shift my language. And I hope that through our discussion today, you pick up a few tips and tricks about how you might move forward in your life to help you choose words wisely and use them for the power that they offer us, which, my friend, is completely free. It's time for a clarity cocktail. Today's clarity cocktail comes from Penny Johnson Gerald. Her quote is this, if you dream of becoming an eagle, you follow your dreams and not the words of a bunch of chickens. Oh, yeah. Awesome woman with a fabulous first name leaves us with this amusing but poignant little quote.
Penny Casselman [00:08:30]:
If you dream of becoming an eagle, you follow your dreams and not the words of a bunch of chickens. You know, so often when we share our dreams and goals with others who are not committed to showing up as their best selves, not committed to personal development and moving their life forward. Their brains seem to automatically be hijacked to the negative because they wanna keep you safe. I know on several occasions, I've shared dreams in the past with acquaintances. And the first thing is, wow, that's gonna be really hard. Or are you sure that you wanna do that? Are you sure this is something you can do? And if I wasn't careful, I would let those words bring me down. And I wanna caution you to maybe use this quote and think of them as little chickens squawking negative ideas at you. Because, truly, if you want to soar, if you want a phenomenal life, whatever it is phenomenal means to you, whether it's in a financial realm, in a title realm, in a family realm, spiritual, whatever phenomenal is to you, go after that.
Penny Casselman [00:09:55]:
Soar and become an eagle because the little words that the chickens will throw at you should not diminish what you're going after, and don't let them hijack your brain to start finding reasons you shouldn't go after something. So we can let the chickens talk to themselves, but us eagles, let's soar and move our life forward. And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to the idea that the words we use have power, that questions will hijack our brain and force it to answer. We have got to commit to ourselves to use our words wisely. Now this really hit home for me last evening. I was invited over to a friend's house for a dinner party, And halfway through the evening, one of my very good friends said, oh, you're doing some work around the house.
Penny Casselman [00:11:05]:
Right? How's it going? And my immediate response was, my house is a disaster. It looks like a war zone. And just uttering those words, my mind immediately started to point out to me oh, the reasons that those statements were true. I didn't elaborate to my friend what they were, but my brain, whoo, it took off on an Olympic 100 yard sprint and started to say this, this, this were all reasons for the comment. But it was interesting because there was a short pause, and my friend looked at me and she said, let's reframe that. Your house is not a disaster. Your house does not look like a war zone. Your house is transforming into something more useful, more beautiful, more functional.
Penny Casselman [00:12:04]:
Now whether you have home improvements going on or not, did you feel the difference in those statements? How I initially said, my house is a disaster. It looks like a war zone versus my house is going through a transformation. It is becoming a beautifully more functional home and one that I will enjoy for years to come. Right? What a difference. Just the little word tweaks make. And by saying that it's transforming into something beautiful, my mind just now started to tell me, like, oh, yeah. That lighting you had installed, even though you have holes in your ceiling, those lights that now hang, how gorgeous will they be during a dinner party? Yesterday, I was trying to think of some examples that could really understand how this might apply to you. This statement, I think is pretty universal.
Penny Casselman [00:13:06]:
I have only found a handful of people who absolutely rock at what I'm about to say, but I usually find myself saying this, I suck at remembering new people's names when I go to a party. Have you ever said that? How does that make you feel? I mean, just thinking that thought, my brain immediately thought, well, gosh maybe that shows I'm not interested in the person because I can't even remember their name and now I feel awkward, I can't go talk to them because I'm gonna have to say hi without using their name. But what if one of my goals is to actually become better at that, might I change the phrase to something like this? I am becoming better at remembering names at a party. I don't know about you, but that feels much better. That has me not giving away my power to external things and just writing myself off like I have no control over the situation and putting myself in the driver's seat and saying, you know what? I am becoming better at remembering names. Do you agree? Does that feel better? There was another study that was illustrating thoughts can actually impact not only how you think but it can also alter your body chemistry and in the way that you perceive things around you. And here's an example just in case you don't believe me. Imagine you have a cup full of fluid, you raise it to your mouth, and you start sipping on lemon juice.
Penny Casselman [00:14:51]:
What does it taste like? Now, my friend, for just a moment, did the back of your cheeks get that pucker? Did you get a faint hint of how bitter that would be if you were sipping straight lemon juice? My friend posing questions throws your brain into an activity that is beyond your control. But what is in your control are the words that you use. And I hope that illustrates how powerful your brain is, more powerful than any computer, any other living being on this planet. You are unique, amazing, wonderful human. Harness all of that amazing energy in your brain and use it to kick some ass, my friend. So here's a little trick, tip, insight that I want you to start thinking about and using as you move through your day today and your week and beyond. Phrases like I suck or I can't or I'm horrible or I don't know. Your brain when posed with questions with that much negativity, will serve you back examples to support that belief.
Penny Casselman [00:16:23]:
And my friend, I'm here to tell you right now, you don't suck. You can do anything you want. You are not horrible. You are amazing. And saying you don't know isn't true. You're probably just not being fully expressed and honest with yourself. So what if we swap some words? One of the exercises I am doing this week is coming up with a list of words that I can swap the next time I hit a negative question or thought that comes up. Words like I'm capable, I'm willing, I'm becoming, I'm open to, I'm exploring, and I'm curious.
Penny Casselman [00:17:07]:
Just like the example I gave about I suck at remembering people's names when I go to a party. I can change it to, I'm capable. That means I have the capacity to get better. I have the capacity to change that into one of my superpowers versus one of my liabilities. My friend, I want you to know you are the director of your life. You, no one else, not the chickens. I want you to soar like an eagle, and you can alter the vision you set. You can take action.
Penny Casselman [00:17:47]:
You can increase your belief all by asking yourself powerful questions and making powerful statements that force your brain to recognize all of the amazing accomplishments that you've already achieved, all of the potential that you have stored inside of you, and all the magic that is surrounding you on any given day to inspire you in your belief, your vision, and your action to create a phenomenal life. My friend, every week, I show up here willing to be vulnerable. I am becoming a better version of myself by sharing my thoughts, my ideas with you, and I am exploring how on any given day I can become a better person, and you can do the same thing. So what positive action will you take today that will set you up for success tomorrow? Noodle on that and let me know. Until next week, take care. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of pivot with passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen.
Penny Casselman [00:19:37]:
Until the next episode, go grab a red marker. Get excited for your future, and make your first move to pivot with passion.
