A Major Case of the 'Not Bad's'

Recently I was working with a client who had come to see me because he wanted to let go of his stress and anger, and start feeling happier and calmer.

As I usually do, I asked him how his day had been, how things had gone since our last session and a few other questions to learn how much better things were since the last time we chatted.

To each question his response boiled down to ‘not bad’.

How often have you asked someone how they are, how their day has been, how something went at work or even about how their holiday was – and all you get is a ‘not bad’ (or maybe a ‘not bad thanks’ if you are lucky).

And, I suppose that if you think about it

a ‘not bad’ is at least a bit better than a simple ‘bad’ on its own.

Yet if you aren’t bad – why not say how you actually are?

I’m a big believer in the power of language to influence how we feel – it dictates what we pay attention to, how we feel and our whole experience.

So rather than talking about what isn’t bad, or even degrees of badness, have a go at saying (to yourself and others) how things actually are – maybe you are ok, maybe you are good – and then again maybe you are great!

It’s quite tricky to tell someone ‘I’m good’ without feeling at least a bit better – and it’s almost impossible to tell someone ‘I’m great’ without smiling a bit!

Now I don’t expect you to be convinced just because I tell you that what you focus on you experience more of. So check it out for yourself – for the next ten days, when someone asks you how you are tell them you are good or great! Then notice how you feel and start enjoying noticing more of the good things in your life!

Best wishes

Dan Regan

Hypnotherapist & Coach

www.elymindcoaching.co.uk