One of the most common forms of victim language is the word "try." Whenever people say "I'll try," they are apologizing for failure in advance. They are telegraphing their belief that they are going to fail in whatever it is they are saying they will try to do. And you intuitively know that these words are signals for upcoming failure.
If you went to a lawyer and you asked him to defend you in a lawsuit, and he examined your case and replied by saying, "Well, I'll sure try," how would you feel?
If you went to a doctor with a life-threatening condition and you said to the doctor, "I sure hope you can help me," and the doctor said, "Well, I'll try," it would be time for you to get a second opinion.
The words "I'll try" mean "I'm going to fail at this, and I want you to know in advance so that you can't come back to me later and say that I didn't give you any warning. If you do come back I can remind you that I only said that I would try."
Make the decision, right now, to eliminate victim language from you conversation. Speak with definiteness and conviction instead. Say "I will" or "I won't."
- Brian Tracy
Make A Commitment: I will eliminate victim language starting with the word "try"!
Deadline: ______________________
Comments(5)