At Braathe Enterprises, we don’t believe in inferior language; that’s why we’ve banned the words confused, frustrated and busy and their similar words.
Confused is a choice. Rather than use confused, we suggest people use a clarifying question like “I don’t understand how to do this, can you point me to some resources or give me some tips on how to handle this?
Frustration is also a choice that people make to get aggravated by situations, people, and circumstances. Rather than say “I’m frustrated”, we encourage people to ask for help before they need it, ask questions like “I’m having a bit of difficulty working on this by myself, how do you suggest I break up the work or complete it?”.
Lastly, busy is a cop out. The busiest people I know never say that they are busy. Truly busy people manage their calendar, their time, and their resources to fit in what is important.
What other defeatist or overused words do you feel should be banned?