Welcome Professionals…

…Recently I overheard somebody saying: “I must meet this deadline or my boss will kill me!” I was cringing when I heard so much negativity condensed in one single sentence. From a motivational standpoint this is the worst formulation of thought. Think about the elements of this sentence.

“I must”: Nobody must do anything in our rich part of the world. We all must die some day. Thats all. The rest we can choose.

“…meet this deadline…”: I actually looked up the word deadline, because I wondered where it comes from. Here’s what I found on Wiktionary: “According to the Oxford English Dictionary, early usage refers simply to lines that do not move, such as one used in angling. Slightly later American usage refers to a boundary in a prison […] beyond which prisoners were shot.” I never really liked the word deadline, but now I think it is disgusting.

“…or my boss…”: This is an externalized motivation. Our protagonist is doing it for somebody else, someone of higher authority. This induces a feeling of low self-worth.

“…will kill me!”: Clearly an exaggeration from my point of view. Other than prisoners in the original meaning of the term deadline, employees will barely get shot by their boss for crossing the deadline. Thinking about the act of killing will certainly be a severe threat that is completely inappropriate for this kind of problem.

You may call my analysis of this one sentence hairsplitting. And you may be right. My point is: Words matter! Let’s think twice before we use such a desperate sentence again. First of all for the sake of our own souls. Second for the people around us – our team mates, clients, and bosses, too.

Wishing you freedom of thought,

Malte

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