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A couple of weeks ago, I amended the house rule in my discussion board Jack’s Discussion Board by including the following rule:

“With immediate effect, the 3-letter word ''try'' and its variation such as ''trying'' are banned in my discussion board.

If I see a post which incorporates these words, the penalty is that I will delay in responding the post by 7 days. As you notice, I usually reply your post within the next 2 hours under normal circumstances. So, I consider this initial penalty fair and reasonable.

However, if 7 days is not painful enough, I have the discretion to increase the delay by 30 days or even 60 days.”

I can understand that you may believe my house rule to be harsh and ridiculous. In this article, may I have your permission to explain my rationale of incorporating this rule in my discussion board?

Researches were done to show that we talk to ourselves approximately 60,000 times a day. Your first internal conversation with yourself will probably be at the time when you wake up. Think about this: do you ask yourself “What time is it?” or “How many more minutes can I sleep?” after you wake up?  Interestingly, as I type this article, I am actually talking to myself. You now wonder whether you really talk to yourself. See you talk to yourself again.

Now, if you believe what I said above is correct, then you must understand that we can be constantly empowered or disempowered by the words or phrases we use. Without going into further detail because it is beyond the scope of this article, the words or phrases can be divided into the two categories: resourceful and unresourceful.

If we constantly use words that put us into an unresourceful state, guess what?  Our brain will build an internal program to instruct our body to behave in that pattern. If you think negatively each day, you will become negative. However, if you think positively each day, you will become positive. If you think you can be committed, you will be committed. It is very interesting to observe the pattern of our behaviour, which is heavily influenced by our mind.

So, what is the big deal of saying the three-letter word?  The Collins CoBuild English Dictionary defines this word as “you want to do something and you take action which you hope will help you to do it.”  Although it does not appear to have any problem with this definition, one thing that is missing here is that this word can put you in a non-committal state. If you are not able to reach an outcome, you feel that it is still all right. If you want to reach a goal, you must make it a “must” and be committed. No hope, and no wish. There is a saying: “hope is for hopeless.” Don’t sabotage yourself by using the unresourceful words or phrases.

Now if you understand what I am talking about, you will realize that by using this three-letter word often, your brain will program a behavior that is non-committal. So, whatever you want to achieve something, you are always in the non-committal state. “You “XXX” to do this” or “what you are “XXXing” to do is”… You will never reach your goal if you “XXX.”

Now after reading this article, are you committed to stop using this three-letter word?  If you are committed, you can do this exercise. Please commit to putting $10 in your piggy bank from now on whenever you use this three-letter word. I do not care whether it is intentional or accidental. Just do it. And if you think $10 is not painful enough, raise it to $20 or even $50 until you really feel the pain. I bet you can do this in order to stay committed. Practice this for a month and see if you feel any difference.

Remember not to use the three-letter word or its variation in my discussion board. This is my rule, and I am committed to following my rule!

To access previous articles written by Jack Wong, please click here.

Jack Wong 
Staff Writer and Instructor
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site
Visit Jack’s Discussion Board

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