Back at the beginning of my journey rediscovering movement, the group I was training with had a bunch of in-group habits. One of them was the abolition of use of the word “can’t.” Saying the C-word cost an immediate 5 pushups. (I’ve been in cars when the driver had to pull over to pay.)

At the time, the word was banned because we all knew that changing your words, changed how you thought. “I can’t do that wall run,” is negative. Things got to the point that we even banned the synonymous, “I am unable to…” version of that negativity. (And ever since, I’ve always suggested this small word be dropped, especially in the context of movement practice.)

In place of that negativity—if you still wanted to say something—you had to take your thinking one level deeper: Why was I about to say, “I can’t…”? This always led to a bunch of answers about getting better at various things. Instead, we said things like, “I need stronger tendons” or “I need to practice that technique.” This of course suggests exactly what one might go work on in that moment.

I have always wondered why, specifically, that change from negativity to positivity works. It turns out, that changing one’s language, is a known feature of one theory (there are at least 5 different theories, because, humans are complicated) of motivation.

Put another way: If you want to be more motivated, one possibility is to simply change the words you use.

If you’re curious, check this out: The Science of Drive- 5 Theories of Motivation That Can Help You Achieve Your Goals. (Which is an article based on the book Motivation Myth Busters by Grolnick et al.) Look for the “Attribution Theory” which identifies (among other features) one’s perception of the locus of control, and whether or not one has control, in any situation.

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