Do You Have a Big BUT?

Do YOU have a big BUT?

Most of us do. In fact, many of us have more than one!

I am not referring to the backside, booty, derriere, tush, or junk-in-the -trunk. I am referring to that little 3 letter word that serves as a huge “CANCEL” BUTT-on in our speech. Some common examples of this are:

 “The concert last night was awesome BUT I’m going to be exhausted all day because I was out so late.”

“I had a great time on vacation BUT I will be paying for it for months to come.”

“I can meet you for dinner BUT I can only stay an hour.”

And, a personal favorite, delivered to me some years ago-

 “I love you BUT I am not in love with you.”

We tend to take this little word for granted; much of the time not even noticing its effect. I set an intention not too long ago to delete this word from my vocabulary. I even have journal entries where I have written the word, crossed it out, and reworded the sentence into an affirmative statement. Slowly, I am catching this less and less. It has become a bit of an inner game for me!  In doing this, I have found I pay closer attention to the energy behind & infused within my words, retraining myself to speak to myself and others in a more positive manner. I believe I am paying closer attention to WHAT I want to say; what I want to affirm as true, and what I want to create in my life.

Everything begins in consciousness.  Nothing manifests into the physical until it is first a thought.  That thought carries with it the energy of creation. What do I want to create? What AM I creating when I cancel one thought with another with a “but”? The language of the Universe is feelings and The Universe is always responding to our feelings, saying “YES” to everything we affirm.

Let’s use my first example above. “The concert last night was awesome” – affirmative, positive, probably conjures up great memories.  Then I add, “BUT I’m going to be exhausted all day because I was out so late.”  I don’t know about you, BUT I feel a letdown in my body as I read this second half of the sentence. I PHYSICALLY feel a shift from high to low.  Read it again. Aloud. How does it make you feel? And furthermore, what is being affirmed to the Universe? More “tired” please. “YES”!

That little zap of energy adds onto another zap and another until my “but” is SO big it keeps me from moving at all! It makes me tired.  It makes me inactive, uncreative, stuck on the same hamster wheel that I keep recreating of whatever it is I am backing up with that little word. My BUT can literally drag me to the floor!

Then I started to wonder….If inserting a “but” in between 2 statements replaces the energy of the first with the energy of the second…

Could there be times when a big “BUT” is beneficial?

“I hate this job BUT it pays the bills.”

“I don’t like where I’m living, BUT at least I have a roof over my head.”

These two statements still drag me down. How do you feel reading them?

So, then I decided to use the word “and” in place of my “but.”  Let’s see how that works.

“I had a great time on vacation AND I will be paying for it for months to come.”

“I hate this job AND it pays the bills.”

To me these two sentences just seem to contradict themselves and make me scratch my head. Huh?

I’ve also tried substituting longer conversational segues such as “however”, “in any event”, and “that being said” for “but” and still it seems to somewhat negate the initial positive energy of whatever I am saying.  So, how do I speak more affirmatively? How do I energetically charge my words and thoughts thereby creating more of the good in my life that I desire and that is my birthright as a child of the Universe that creates everything?

I do exactly that:  I affirm what it is that I wish to create more of and have manifest in my life.  I spend less time talking and thinking about what I do not want and more time with what I DO want.  It means working off that “but” by using my core muscles of truth.  It involves more words at times, and sometimes it means I must rework a thought or sentence midstream to construct it into positive form.  In doing so, I am reprogramming my mind to focus more and more on the positive.  I am working out.   (OMG! I AM WORKING OUT!!) 

I encourage you to take a few days and watch your thoughts and your words. See where your big BUT gets in the way of the magnificent life of your dreams.  Work it out! Build your core! Get your BUT off the ground and start moving!