30 Why PowerPhrases?
I saw a mother who used negative Poison Phrases to start an
argument with her daughter over a toy her daughter wanted.
The mother would be surprised to hear me say she started the
argument, but that’s what I heard. The daughter said, “Look at
this toy, Mommy.” Mom said,
You can’t have it. You don’t need any more toys. You have
enough toys.“But I don’t have one like this one,” the child said. Mom and
daughter were off and running in an argument. Why do I say
Mom started the argument? The daughter hadn’t said a word
about wanting the toy. Mom introduced that idea. Mom was
quick to point out what the daughter couldn’t have, didn’t need,
and wouldn’t get. Any self-respecting child would see that as a
challenge—and many self-respecting adults would too!
- Do you ever “should” on people? If you do, you are using
Vicious Venom Poison Phrases.
I was delighted to have a few minutes to write while I
waited for the airplane to finish boarding. The man sitting next
to me said,
You shouldn’t be working all the time. You should put your
laptop away and enjoy the flight.Have you ever had someone tell you what you should do?
How did you like it? People don’t like you to tell them what
to do even when you’re right, and they hate for you to tell
them what to do when you don’t know what you’re talking
about!
I mentor a teenage at-risk boy. One day we were driving