REPHRASE AND SAY THE GOOD NEWS LAST

I’ve discovered recently that there’s more power in how you finish a statement, than there is in how you begin a statement.

Let me explain.

In almost any difficult situation, there’s good news and there’s bad news. In order to resolve the situation you are in, you need to acknowledge both the good and the bad.

If you’re goal is to feel better about a difficult situation, many people will say something like “Just focus on the positive!”.

I think that’s terrible advice because how can you ONLY focus on the positive when the negative is so obviously present in that situation? You can’t just ignore the negative that’s so obviously there.

Yet what I’ve learned is that you can actually redirect the energy of handling a difficult situation, just by the simple act of choosing what news you decide to acknowledge last.

So if that’s true, let’s experiment on this for a second…

Think about a difficult or painful situation you’ve been through. Let’s just say you got yourself into a car accident.

Instead of saying to yourself:

“I’m okay, but my car is totally broken!”

Say this:

“My car is totally broken, but I’m okay!”

Two statements – which both contain the exactly same words, yet they transmit completely different energies.

It goes to prove that the power doesn’t lie in what you say, but how you say it.

If you acknowledge the dreadfulness of a situation last, then you leave yourself feeling terrible about the situation. However, if you can acknowledge the dreadfulness of a situation first, you don’t need to bring it up again. Which means the only thing left to acknowledge is the positive. And since the positive is the last thing you remember from what you just said, it becomes the single thing you take away with you from that situation.

After all, the power of the punchline hits you in the last few words.

I suggest saving the good news for last, you’ll feel better every time you do it.