The Power of Only

The Power of Only.

It’s an odd word, and for me it gets odder the more I look at it. Something called “semantic satiation” sets in, where the repetition of the word causes it to lose its meaning. I start thinking that it should be pronounced “awn-lee.”

Linguistics aside, there’s something else that’s odd about it.

In one context it can be limiting and unempowering (I am only the…)

In another context it can speak to the uniqueness of what we have to offer (I am the only…)

I created an exercise for clients who feel they don’t measure up to standards (theirs or others) or that they lack the power to effect change. They write their limiting beliefs or self-judgments and preface them with “I am only the…”

Then, they rewrite the beliefs but preface them with “I am the only…” Almost always, the end of that statement transforms from a narrow view of them being stuck and powerless to one where they begin seeing and acknowledging their value and importance.

By that simple act of reframing, they shift from inertia to action and passive to purposeful.

Give it a try.

Take a situation where you believe you’re limited, where you are “only the…” and reframe it as you are “the only…”

How does that shift your motivation and inclination to act and bring about change?