Have to, choose to or get to?

Last week I read a blog post from Live Your Legend referring to the subject of procrastination. Part of the article delved into the words we use to describe the tasks we own. For example, the difference between the words ‘have’, ‘choose’ and ‘get’. I see this constantly with NLP in that using the words ‘choose’ or ‘get’ versus ‘have’ has significant impact in how our brain filters and processes aspects of our lives.

How about an example? I’m sure the majority of us have used the phrase “I have to go to the gym.” The word ‘have’ has a connotation of something being a chore. Substituting the word ‘have’ to ‘choose’ changes the task from a chore to a choice. Furthermore changing the word ‘choose’ to ‘get’ takes it to another level by making a choice now a privilege. Think about it, some people in the world do not have a choice to go to the gym.

I’ve been on a sabbatical since late last year. It was a clear choice for me to leave my job and travel around the world. There are many ways to spend time during a sabbatical. One way would be to look for a job because at some point I have to pay bills or pay off debt. I chose to save up money for a year so that I get to spend my time experiencing change without having to do anything I didn’t want to do. I get to think about what I want to accomplish in my life. I get to take time to reflect and see what’s going on in the world. Where do I get to make a difference here and now!

In previous posts I’ve mentioned the power of affirmations. I spend two minutes every morning reading out aloud the various aspects I want to live by and/or achieve in my life. Every day I reiterate my goals and facets of health, wealth, love or happiness. That way I am clear in my mind and aligned to the big picture. My affirmations are full of the words ‘get to’, ‘choose to’ versus ‘have to’.

I want to live until I’m at least 100+ years old. That is 36,525 days of living; not that many days. Making life about choices and getting to do things and not having to do things is where life is at!