MKMMA Week 9 Yeah BUT

“Yeah But” is a phrase that kills positivity and clear thinking. Combined, these words have the toxic mental effect equivalent to bleach and ammonia

This may sound like hyperbole to some, but I recently witnessed how these two words are the death of possibility.

Sometimes life lessons jump out of the dark like a ghoul in a Halloween haunted house. I had the experience a couple of times during the last two weeks.

The “Yeah But” attack started when a relative was driving me to an airport to pick up a reserved car rental. He suddenly started complaining about the strategically located traffic enforcement cameras near a neighborhood public park.

As we crept down the street to avoid a traffic citation for the law enforcement eye in a box, the complaint expanded to traffic cameras on streets in surrounding neighborhoods, and then communities miles away.

I attempted to interrupt his monologue  by asking a question. “If you are unhappy about the cameras, why not contact your council representative and express your concerns.”

“Yeah, I could do that….BUT!”

I decided to persist with a different approach. “Why not get a petition started to let the local rep the community wants the cameras turned off.”

Next came another string of “Yeah Buts”

“Yeah, I could do that…BUT” these folks don’t care.

“Yeah BUT these people don’t vote”

“Yeah BUT they will not answer if I knock on their door.”

This guy is stuck, I thought. Am I this way? Is this a clarion call directed at me? What am I doing to created this? These are a few of the questions that zipped through my consciousness.

Again, I decided to silence Mr. Yeah But with a different approach.

“What do you want?”  All I’ve heard is what you don’t want and what other people will not do. So, what do you want.

Guess what I got next?

If you say “Yeah But,” you may not collect $200. He went silent.

It was as if I overloaded his program. This make me think about a passage in the introduction to The Master Key System,. Part 10.

“The ordinary man, who has no definite knowledge of cause and effect, is governed by his feelings or emotions.” In a following paragraph are these words of wisdom: “He never thinks his problem through to the end. In short, he does not know that every effect is the result of a certain definite cause, but he seeks to console himself with explanations and excuses. He thinks only in self-defence.”

I didn’t ask why he was opposed to the cameras. That would have be nice to know.

Like it or not, those cameras were hung for some reason. Maybe for some honest or questionable reason, but I assume there is a reason.

Regardless of the reason, “Yeah But” had him locked down from considering any possible action.

I’m proud I was able to quickly recognize what was going on. In addition, I witnessed the Herculean power this behavior-limiting phrase.

Be the observer is repeated nearly every week during the MKMMA class.

I saw an effect of  disempowering words in someone else. I must now continue to observe and monitor my words, and consistently replace the words and thoughts that I allow to steal my power, with words and thoughts that promote growth.