Behind every success lies hard work and effort.
There is not one successful person that hasn’t worked hard to come to a place he is now. To succeed you need to sacrifice a number of things that you have enjoyed, but eventually it will pay off. There are a handful of phrases successful men avoid to say, and with good reason too.
When the success comes it will make you forget all the bad moments you’ve gone through. But when in difficult situations, successful people do not stop so easily.
Words matter. The way we speak has a great impact on how we act, perceive and think. Successful people are aware about this fact, they do not implement this negative mindset in their lives. They avoid these phrases that closes the doors of opportunity and limits growth. Instead they have positive alternatives that show resilience and optimism.
Let’s take a look at the phrases you will not hear from them.
6 Phrases Successful Men Avoid At All Costs
1. “I hate this job”
This sentence you will definitely not hear from a successful person! People who are focused on success, always strive to be neutral in terms of work and not show too much love for it, so they would not take it very personally.
Frustration due to over workload, less appreciation and lack of communication is normal at the workplace. But overwhelming this frustration over your personality breeds negativity. Successful people reframe the situation as a stepping stone. They transform their frustration into action. Instead of saying ”I hate this job”, they take it to polish their skills and empower them for better opportunities.
Instead of using this negative phrase the following positive mindset should be revised.
“Even though this is not my long-term goal, I’m still here to learn new skills for my future”.
“I’m grateful for the experience I’m gaining here”.
Constant negativity can affect your performance and efforts and which could lead to being passed over for new opportunities. They create negativity, limit personal and professional growth, and sabotage opportunities.
Constant negativity creates a mental loop which directly affects your performance and efforts and makes it difficult to move forward and gain new opportunities. All time job dissatisfaction will create a constant stress that will harm your physical and mental well-being. Instead of feeding resistance and resentment, adopt this mindset.
“ This job isn’t ideal but it gives me experience. I’m learning what I do to move closer to my career goal.”
2. “This is not fair“
Repetitive negative language can potentially shape your mindset. Being unwilling to try or explore new ideas, often signal resistance and limit exposure to experience. The people who believe in their abilities grow through effort are more successful. Open people learn more, polish their abilities and gain more opportunities. Growth, opportunity and fulfilment comes from adaptation, resilience and ownership.
Certain negative phrases “I hate my job and this is not fair” not only disturbs your outlook but spreads negativity in the workplace too because negativity is contagious. When your mind is stuck on dislike, it will limit your chances to learn, improve and connect with others, your motivation will drop and performance will be unsatisfactory. If you truly dislike your job, reframe your experience and take constructive steps to get your desired goal. Identify the skills and experiences that you can carry forward. If your job isn’t right for you, take it as a stepping stone to move to your next step.
Fairness matters but focusing on unfairness often hampers your performance and progress. Constantly blaming “This is not fair”, shifts your energy towards resentment, and you feel powerless to act.
Instead adopt this approach “I can’t control every outcome but I can control my response and effort.” If something is truly unfair, have a solution-oriented discussion instead of blaming and complaints. Reframing these thoughts keep you on track to be focused and consistent.
Successful people never found any objections when they haven’t received some praise and when others received. Even though they may think that, they will never express it.
There are different real-world examples of successful people. Oprah Winfrey is one of them. She started her early career as news anchor but she didn’t like her job. But she didn’t let that limit her. She used her skills to polish her abilities to gain better opportunities. As a result, her commitment, personal responsibility and self-improvement led her to build her talk show empire.
3. “I do not work that way”
In today’s world, where everything is evolving, improving and making its ways to advancements, a rigid statement that ”I do not work that way” can limit the potential and abilities. In an era of advanced environment, the people who are successful are not necessarily experienced and smartest–they are ones who can adapt. Your rigidity and unwillingness can prevent you from learning new skills. Your inflexibility may risk your progress and skills obsolete.
“Adaptability is not losing your identity–its about expanding your possibilities.”
Those who are successful will never speak like a job does not match, if it is not within their principles. Successful people are always open to changes and new proposals.
Instead of rejecting new approaches and innovation, adapt them to have opportunities of learning, growth and advancements.
“That’s not how I usually work, but I’m open to trying”.
“This is new to me but I’m willing to learn”.
This positive mindset signals openness, resilience and problem-solving ability.
Blockbuster, the dominant video rental store, failed to adapt the new technology and consumer preferences while Netflix adapted to change and innovation, transitioning to streaming and transformed the whole industry by a more convenient customer-centric model. Blockbuster’s inflexibility and refusal to adapt cost it everything.
4. “It’s not my job”
This can be very annoying if you ask someone for help and get this answer. Successful people do not run away from work, even in the moments when they have a lot of work. They will help because they want to help and make your job easier.
In a professional workplace, the phrase “It is not my job” can have very quick results that can weaken the relationships. Somehow this is correct to have a task outside your official responsibilities, but this mindset can prevent you form strong connections and undermine your reputation.
In modern workplaces, success is a collective input of diverse skills and perspectives. Refusing to be helpful may protect your boundaries in the short term but it limits your growth in the long term. On the contrary, being supportive can open the doors of progress, growth and advancements. Collaborations, generosity and willingness to step outside your role can strengthen your relationships and help you to build new skills.
Instead of refusing on firsthand, try reframing:
“That’s not normally part of duty but I’m happy to help where I can”.
Howard Schultz at Starbucks: Before building a global coffeehouse, Schultz spent time working with baristas and learning the customer experience firsthand. Instead of dismissing the task outright, he got insights that shaped Starbuck’s global success.
5. “It is impossible”
In the phase of difficulty, to declare something seems impossible can limit your potential and closes the doors to creativity and problem-solving abilities. Challenges are part of life, belief in possibility gives the motivation to find ways to make it possible. Confidence and belief in your abilities is a self-efficacy effect that directly impacts your actual performance. The difference between impossible and success is mindset. By replacing impossible with curiosity, belief and persistence, you open yourself to innovation and growth.
Instead of saying “it is impossible” , reframe to stay solution-oriented:
“This is challenging but let’s explore it together”.
“We haven’t figured it out yet but we will”.
This mindset is not guaranteed to be instantly successful but has solutions to make it possible.
Even in moments when something looks really impossible, they will not say it, because they believe there is always a way out.
The Wright brothers: In the early 1900s, it seems impossible to consider a human flight. Despite repeated failures Wright brothers got successful by achieving a powered first flight in 1903. This all happened because of their belief and persistence and not giving up.
6. “I have no choice”
Life gives challenges and difficulties but the phrase “I have no choice” only deepens the sense of hopelessness and helplessness. When you stop looking for solutions that nothing will change, this mindset reduces motivation, resilience and optimism.
Taking responsibility for your decisions strengthens trust and each choice is an opportunity to learn and to be more decisive. Identifying your choices and options, taking ownership. You transform your limitations into empowerments.
When you feel stuck, reframe these steps to get empowerment.
List down all options, prefer long-term benefits over short-term problems. Seek advice from mentors,friends and colleagues. Sometimes the best choice is the hardest at the moment. You always have choices–that shape your future.
Another phrase that you will not hear from successful people. They know that there is always a choice and that there are always two choices of routes, so you just need to choose the one on which you will go.
Nelson Mendela: during his 27 years in prison, he never ran out of choices by not having any possibility. But his determination, refusal to reconcile and unfailing courage to make difficult decisions entirely changes the future of South Africa.
Thanks for reading this post! – MyPlugin