Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2022. Its figures are from 2022: Novak is described as 70 years old and Yum Brands as present in more than 135 countries.
Can a single word bring about changes in your life? With this mind trick, it might. It may sound exaggerated, but the truth is that there are various mind tricks that can make a difference in your life and in your personal and professional success. This time we’re going to play with the belief system. And yes, even though it may sound like pseudoscience, the truth is that whether or not you achieve your goals depends, to some extent, on your ability to believe you can do it.
Beliefs and thoughts can cause changes in your body, even at the cellular level. And that is a scientifically well-established fact.
There are several mind tricks that can help you build more self-confidence. Sometimes our own thoughts sabotage us, so the secret lies in reframing the negative thoughts that are undermining your confidence. Once you are able to reframe your thoughts, you can identify how you see a situation or experience and then change your perspective on it. From that moment on, everything changes.
A mind trick that can change your life just by adding one word to your thoughts
Let me say up front that this isn’t an exercise in wishful thinking or in denying your thoughts. Your feelings are clues about what matters to you, so it’s healthy to acknowledge them.
The aim is to find a healthier, more productive way of thinking about whatever you’re facing.
David Novak, a 70-year-old businessman and former head of Yum Brands, says that using this mind trick marked a before and after in his life and his success. And according to him, he did it by adding one simple word that helped him reframe the way he thought.
Reframing “no” as “not yet” changed my life
An easy-to-apply mind trick is to add the word “yet” to the end of a sentence that comes from your thoughts. Let’s explain it in more detail.
In David Novak’s own words:
When I was building Yum Brands, I wanted to turn the company into a great global powerhouse. However, a voice would pop up in my head and tell me: “We’re not known as a legitimate international company.”
And that was true at the beginning, but one day I decided to add “yet” to the end of that thought: “We’re not a successful international company… yet.” And every time I felt unmotivated or defeated, I repeated this sentence to myself. And it changed my life. It also changed the future of my company and my motivation to keep working at it.
Activating the belief system
How can a single word change the course of your life? It isn’t magic. It’s pure psychology. Success depends to some extent on our ability to communicate and our ability to build relationships.
Well, there is no communication more important than the one you have with yourself. And there is no relationship more important than the one you have with yourself.
When you say, “I’ve never done X”, your brain unconsciously thinks, “If I’ve never done X, doing X isn’t possible.”
On the other hand, when you say, “I haven’t done X yet”, your brain interprets it very differently. For your brain, that “yet” implies that you haven’t done it so far: it isn’t done yet, but it’s on its way.
I don’t think it needs explaining at this point that believing you can do something increases your chances of achieving it. Believing you can’t do something completely wipes out your chances of achieving it.
See also: What to do if you want to start a business but have no business experience
In other words, when you believe a problem has no solution and take the outcome for granted, your brain assumes there is no possible solution to that problem, and there’s your result. But when you don’t fixate on the problem at hand and believe you’ll get out of the situation, your brain automatically starts looking for solutions. And the best thing about our brain is that, thinking this way, it ends up finding the solution.
David Novak says that adding this word made his “still small company” go global. Today, Yum Brands is one of the largest restaurant companies in the world, with locations in more than 135 countries.
By adding the word “yet”, you turn what could have been the end of a conversation into the start of a new one.
How to apply this mind trick to increase your success
1. Think of something outside your comfort zone
Choose anything or any goal you have in mind, even if you’re unlikely to do it. It could be running a marathon, getting into great shape or building your own business.
2. Say that negative, defeatist thought out loud
In other words, say what you think: “I’ve never run a marathon”, “I’m not in shape”, “I’m not an entrepreneur”.
And think carefully about how this kind of thought is defining you. Because yes, your thoughts define you.
3. Add “yet” to that sentence and say it out loud again
“I haven’t run a marathon yet”, “I’m not in shape yet”, “I don’t have my own business yet”.
4. The most important step: ask yourself this question
What do I need to learn to achieve it?
What do I need to do to make it happen?
Write down honestly what you would need to learn or practise for that goal to happen. In other words, write down what you need to do for that “yet” to make sense.
Now turn the mind trick into real magic
You should know that not all the mind tricks in the world will spare you sacrifice, pain and sweat.
We’re not talking about the power of the law of attraction, where you wish for something and the universe grants it. I hope it’s clear to you that the universe isn’t going to give you a damn thing if you don’t go out and look for it, if you don’t work to get it.
Once we’ve reframed our thoughts and swapped negativity for possibility, it’s time to do what needs to be done to turn that possibility into a tangible reality.
Most of us don’t know our potential; we don’t know what we’re capable of until we achieve it.
Change the way you think and you’ll change the way you see the world. Change your thoughts and your perspective on your possibilities will change.
See also: Hard truths you must accept to succeed
See also: The only difference between peace of mind and stress is attitude
Featured image: U.S. Department of State from United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
