Brian Johnson breaks down Steve Chandler's owner vs. victim mindset. Owners say "I can" and frame things as projects; victims say "I can't" and complain about problems. The language you use shapes how you perform, so practice talking like an owner.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. In Steve Chandler's great little book, Reinventing Yourself, he makes a distinction between being an owner versus a victim. It's very much like our whole victim versus creator paradigm. Now, one of the things he points out is that the language of an owner is very different from the language of a victim. Here's how he puts it. Owners used the words I can a lot, while victims favored I can't. Owners had goals, projects, and challenges, whereas victims had problems, hassles, and nightmares. Owners said they were busy and victims said they were swamped. Owners were designing a life while victims were trying to make a living. Owners were psyched and excited about changes in the workplace while victims were worried and ticked off. Owners looked to see what they could get from an experience while victims tried to get through it. Owners would plan things and victims would wish things. Pop quiz. What's your native language? Know this. I quote. Again, this link I'd seen between language and performance was interesting. But what was even more exciting was how people's lives would change once they began practicing using new language. So today's plus one, we're all, shall we say, bilingual in both onish and victimish. But how about we practice our own ish a little more today and become a lot more mindful of when we might be slipping into victimese? Oh, and you want to go extreme? Learn extreme Ownish. Ava, the extreme ownership guys, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. One of the keys to mastering that dialect. Never make excuses, criticize, or complain. Period. Here's to your own ish awesomeness.
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