The two phrases you should stop using to become more successful

CHANGING just one word in a phrase can make you more successful, according to a renowned Stanford professor.

CHANGING just one word in a phrase can make you more successful, according to a renowned Stanford University professor.

Bernard Roth, professor of engineering at Stanford University, argues the way you speak affects not only how others perceive you, but also shapes your behaviour, The Independent reports.

In his book The Achievement Habit, Prof Roth recommends making two simple changes to your everyday language:

1. SAY ‘AND’ INSTEAD OF ‘BUT’

According to Prof Roth, rather than saying, “I want to go to the movies, but I have work to do”, you should say, “I want to go to the movies, and I have work to do.”

“When you use the word but, you create a conflict (and sometimes a reason) for yourself that does not really exist,” he writes

If you use the word ‘and’, however, “your brain gets to consider how it can deal with both parts of the sentence”. You might decide to see a shorter movie, for example.

2. SAY ‘WANT TO’ INSTEAD OF ‘HAVE TO’

“This exercise is very effective in getting people to realise that what they do in their lives — even the things they find unpleasant — are in fact what they have chosen,” he writes.

Prof Roth gave the example of one of his students who felt he “had to” take a hated maths course required for his graduate program.

Eventually he realised that he actually did want to take them, because the benefit outweighed the discomfort of sitting through classes he didn’t enjoy.

“The mind is trickier than we think and is always working with our egos to sabotage our best intentions. That’s the human condition,” he writes.

“What we have going for us is that, if we choose to, we can be mindful about controlling our intentions to create habits that make our lives better.”