Day 28 – The word/phrase you use constantly

Day 28 – The word/phrase you use constantly

I suppose that this question is aimed at those younger folks who punctuate everything with “like” or something similar. As an older individual who was brought up to speak grammatically correct, this is not something that I, or anyone of my generation, is afflicted with.

However, like many people, I am afflicted with the me/myself/I syndrome, i.e. I often unintentionally speak about things from a personal perspective. While this is something that I try to avoid, it’s a habit that is difficult to break.

As an example, earlier this week I was speaking to someone who had recently taken a trip and had posted pictures of that trip on Facebook. I asked him about it and he shared many of the details of what he had seen. I had been in those places myself many years ago and could have easily began interjecting comments about my own experiences. But I specifically avoided doing so and as a result he continued to share and be quite excited about his experience. Thus, not only did he enjoy the conversation and react favorably to my interest in his experience, but I was able to learn some things about him that I might not have if I had started talking about my own experience visiting those same locations.

But even though I can point to situations like the above and realize the importance of focusing on the other individual instead of myself, it still requires a conscious effort to do so. I’m trying to get better and to do it more automatically, but it’s not easy.