How often do you use the word "unfortunately"?
How often do you use the word “unfortunately”? It’s a great word to use to make breaking plans feel a little bit easier… we think. “Unfortunately, I have to reschedule to do x.”“Oh, I can’t. Unfortunately, I’m already booked for y.”“Unfortunately, I have to work. I can’t go to z.” I used to use this word all the time. I used it for everything.Until one day, the meaning of this word hit me. I simply couldn’t look at it the same way, and my life changed forever.
So I looked this word up in the thesaurus. I mean, look at those synonyms. I think they’re even worse than the word “unfortunately” itself.
Yet, we use this word for so many excuses. The deeper I understood this word, the more I realized what I was actually bringing into my life, because we speak our life into existence.Think about the power of that word for a moment… unfortunate.Is what we are choosing instead of (x,y,z) really unfortunate?Is going to work unfortunate? Is seeing another friend unfortunate? Is needing quiet, grounding time unfortunate?Our lives are filled with so much fortune.We have the opportunity to live in these incredible bodies and choose to do what we want every minute of the day. That choice alone is fortunate. Even when we feel that we cannot control anything in our lives, we can choose to control our thoughts and our breath. Mastery of those two functions brings true, sustainable fortune.So, I ask you to pause before using this seemingly innocent word and analyze if it’s the best word choice for your situation. If it is, then, go for it.But if we bring into our lives the very things we speak into existence, what does the power of this one word attract into your life?We do not need to dampen our own lives to make others feel better. Our lives don’t need to be “unfortunate” to make someone else feel better. You can both enjoy bountiful lives.It isn’t unfortunate that you need to make a different choice. There is so much fortune in the ability to choose, and fortune that there are multiple options in your life to choose from on a daily basis.So, the next time you have to inevitably change plans, just notice which words you choose. And if the word "unfortunately" pops up for you, and you choose not to use that word, be the fortune maker in your life and give gratitude for the many choices and blessings that are filling up every crevice of your life.