Insight Spotlight: A Better Way to Say It

Dr. Elisa Malangone

Hello Gorgeous Souls, Welcome to Insight Spotlight, where we take one idea from our previous episode of Ignite Your Insight and simply shine a little more light on it. It's me, Elisa...After our last episode, I found myself sitting at my kitchen table with a legal pad, a cup of tea, and a whole lot of curiosity. I wasn't trying to write another podcast. I wasn't researching for a book. I simply started making a list. The ordinary expressions we use every single day without giving them a second thought. "Shoot me an email." "Take a stab at it." "Roll with the punches." "Kill two birds with one stone." "Beat yourself up." "There's more than one way to skin a cat." The list just kept growing. And then something happened that genuinely surprised me. As I began writing alternatives beside each one... I realized something. The replacements didn't just remove the violence... ...they added clarity. That completely changed how I looked at this little experiment. Because this isn't about becoming politically correct. It isn't about judging the way anyone speaks. It certainly isn't about becoming the language police. It's simply food for thought.

Dr. Elisa Malangone

As someone who practices hypnosis, I'm always fascinated by repetition because the subconscious learns from what it hears over and over again. So if we're going to repeat words thousands of times over the course of a lifetime... why not choose words that better reflect the world we're actually trying to create? So today, I thought we'd do something a little different. I'd like to invite you into my notebook for a few minutes. Maybe one or two of these will resonate with you the way they did with me. Let's start with some of our battle language. Instead of... "Bite the bullet..." what if we simply said... "face the issue." Rather than... "Pull the trigger..." what if we simply... "Made the decision." In place of... "Take a stab at it..." what if we simply... "Gave it a try." Instead of... "Shoot me an email..." what if we simply... "Sent an email." A substitute for... "Fight traffic..." what if we simply... "Made our way through traffic." Now let's move into some of our everyday sayings. Instead of... "Kill two birds with one stone..." what if we simply... "Accomplished two things at once." I have also heard the adorable rendition: Feed two birds with one scone as well. Instead of... "There's more than one way to skin a cat..." what if we simply said... "There are many paths forward." Instead of... "Beat a dead horse..." what if we simply... "Moved on." Short. Clear. Kind. Now let's look at the way we describe what we're experiencing. In place of... "I'm battling this..." what if we simply said... "I'm navigating these feelings." One imagines an enemy. The other imagines a path. One assumes you have to win. The other reminds you that your feelings may simply be trying to lead you somewhere. Instead of... "Battle plan..." what if we simply had... "Action Plan." What if we replace... "Attack the problem..." with... "Explore the solution." I love that one. Because exploring invites curiosity. Attacking invites resistance. Let's move into a few everyday expressions. Instead of... "Under fire..." what if we simply said... "Feeling pressure." Instead of... "Back against the wall..." perhaps... "Looking for another angle." Instead of... "Bombed the presentation..." what if we simply said... "It didn't go as planned." Instead of... "My phone blew up..." how about... "I received a lot of messages." Instead of... "Deadline..." what if we simply called it... "A target date." Or... "A due date." Now let's talk about the words we use with ourselves. This might be my favorite category. Instead of... "I have to..." try... "I get to." Instead of... "I should..." many of you already know my favorite... "I prefer." Instead of... "I'm overwhelmed..." try... "I'm carrying a lot right now." ... "I'm stuck..." what if you're simply... "In transition." Or perhaps... "In development." Or maybe even... "I'm becoming." That one might be my favorite of all. Because becoming reminds us that growth is already taking place... even when we can't yet see the finished version. Instead of... "I'm broken..." what if we simply said... "I'm healing." Instead of... "I failed..." what if... "I learned." Instead of... "I can't..." what if... "I'm learning how." Instead of... "I have no choice..." perhaps... "I'm exploring my options." And finally... a few from the business world. Instead of... "Crush your goals..." what if we simply... "Achieved our goals." Instead of... "Dominate the market..." what if we... "Served the market well." Instead of... "Killer presentation..." what if we simply called it... "An outstanding presentation." Instead of... "Killer instinct..." perhaps... "Clear conviction." And a signature flip I've already be using for over a decade...In place of "A Method to My Madness" beautifully transitions to... "A Method to My Magic". You know... the more I worked through this list... the more one thing became beautifully clear. I wasn't just replacing violent words. I was replacing force with flow. In place of attacking... I was exploring. In place of battling... I was navigating. In place of fighting... I was making my way. In place of crushing... I was achieving. In place of dominating... I was serving. And something about that feels much more aligned with the way I want to move through life. So here's my invitation. Don't try to memorize the list. Just notice. Notice your conversations. Notice your emails. Notice your meetings. Notice your self-talk. And every now and then... ask yourself... "Is there another way I could say this?" Not because you have to. But because words don't just describe our world. Sometimes... they quietly create it. And perhaps... the greatest shift won't come from changing every word overnight. It may come from changing just one. One word... One sentence... One conversation... at a time. Until next time... Much Love, Light, and Insight. ❤️