A radio advert for Lexus caught my attention this morning.  The theme is “One Day…” as in “One day I will learn to dance..” or  ”One day I will make that trip..”.  In the ad they say “One Day usually means never”.

Is that the case? Possibly.

I have long been concerned by the use of language and the impact it has on planning and actions. As a coach I often ask my clients to rephrase what they have told me .

A favourite is when they tell me that the can’t do something - add “yet” and see what happens.

Or “I will try…” - take the “try ” out and see what happens there.

Or ” I could do that”…is often followed by “but” ( see my comments on the use of that word ).

Or ” I need to..” Who says? Does “I want to ..” work just as well if not better? And if you don’t want to - why are you saying you will do it?

I have worked with many people to  articulate their goals - personal, work and study. It is interesting to see what might be a minor change in the words used can do to how the plan looks!