Because is a powerful word.
I was watching Grand Designs and there was an amazingly positive, vibrant lady on there whose house build was being documented. I was struck by how magnetically optimistic she was; against all odds, she seemed to be grooving along and riding the waves of life, loving every minute.
She was ambitious and able to enjoy the process.
I zoomed in closer to see if I could figure out what it was she was doing in order to be the way she was. How does she have such a great time even when things are tricky? Of course we can’t know everything from the outside, but there are certainly clues.
One of these clues was in her language. The host asked how they were funding the project without financing or knowing exactly where the cash would come from. He was probing for drama as is necessary in that part of the show. She automatically said “That’s exciting because we don’t know”.
Did you catch it?
‘Because’ is a causative word. It links two things in a cause and effect seamlessly and helps us believe it and thus changes our perceptions and feelings about a thing.
She did a judo move when she used ‘because’. She linked the not knowing to being exciting using because.
A simple way I’ve been playing with this is to complete the phrase “But that’s great because…” and insert the difficulty or unexpected thing.
This is optimism in action. A simple way to link a positive spin on a tricky moment and so access a more resourceful perception for yourself to open new possibilities going forward. Possibilities that perhaps you wouldn’t have seen had the thing remained an difficulty or a road block.
Because opens the door to new possiblities by gently wedging open what might have been a sealed door.
