What if you're not stuck, but you've been talking to yourself with words that keep you stuck? And you've been rehearsing that for such a long time that now it's started to shape how you feel. Hey, it's Luca and welcome to the Lucasi podcast. The way that you speak about yourself, the words that you choose, the limiting beliefs that you keep repeating over and over, they're also the ones that shape you into becoming that person that you're actually not trying to become. A few years ago, I started saying, I have a difficult relationship with money. It kind of started as a joke between my partner and me. You know, he's the type of guy that is able to spend money more easily than I am. He will buy a new car every so many years, turn in the old one, buy a new one, keep it up to date. You know, he will also see a pair of sunglasses and buy them even though he bought a pair just a few weeks ago. And these are not cheap sunglasses. And I admire that about him because, you know, he's enjoying it. He has the money. So, sure, why not? And then when he asks me, "Are you getting a pair?" I will say, "Oh, no. It's too expensive." Or, "I can't afford it right now." But here's the thing, I can afford it. If I look back at my life, I've never had big money issues. I've always saved money. like I save 40% of every invoice that gets paid for taxes, for savings, for expenses. And I've always found ways to work and to generate money. And still I use words like too expensive or I can't afford it or money is hard. And so what started as a joke by saying I have a difficult relationship with money also started to reinforce this belief this identity. And when I became aware of that, you know, I knew I wanted to change that because I don't want to be the kind of guy that uses words that limit possibilities. I don't want to speak from a place of scarcity. Whether it's about money or life in general, words matter. And so this episode is not about money. It is about the words and the language that we use because words shape how we feel. And repeating these words shapes our behavior. And the words that we use can either keep us small or they can expand us. It's like rehearsing something over and over. As an actor, I know that just reading a script once doesn't turn me into that character. I have to dive into it. How does this character think? What does he believe? How does he move? What words does he use? What identity does he carry inside this world that he lives in? One of my favorite experiences was a character I played in a Dutch soap series for around eight years. Now, that was long enough to at some point notice that even outside the set, in real life, I would think or act like this character. He was confident. He could say things with just his presence. He didn't need too many words. And the strength was in how he talked and how he moved. And the more I immersed myself in this character, the more I noticed that in real life, I could easily tap into this character's energy, you know, the way that he would enter a room, speak, stand. I wasn't trying to act. I had rehearsed that energy for so many years that now it became familiar and sometimes automatic. Now, that's how powerful rehearsal is. And sometimes we rehearse the role of someone we actually don't want to be. When we use words like I'm stuck, I always mess up. Or in my case, I'm bad with money. That's a script. And you've been practicing it. We rehearse that role so often that the identity starts to feel true. And once it feels true, we start acting like it's true and we play within those boundaries. So those words might seem small at first, but it's repetition that turns them into truth. And what you keep telling yourself, your brain starts looking for. And once your brain starts looking for evidence, it's on a mission and it will find it. That's how people stay stuck for years, not because they can't move, but because they keep rehearsing the same script over and over. And there's a difference between labeling yourself and describing what you're experiencing. Labeling means fixed identities, means limiting your possibilities. Experiences, they are fluid. They can change. But simply changing your words won't magically fix the situation. I mean the situation might still be the same, but what changes is the script you keep rehearsing. So for the next seven days, see if you can catch yourself when you are using identity statements like I am this or I always do that or I can't and replace them with something that expands your boundaries that offers more movement. Replace it with a process you're in, a state you're in instead of a fixed label. Replace it with something that gives you more ownership. Because the truth is, if you don't change the script, the script will change you. All right, that's it for this episode. I'd love to hear what script you've been running. And if you're ready to try something different instead, let me know by dropping a comment below. And if this episode made you think of someone, let them know you care about them by sharing it with them. It's already challenging to do this work on your own, but it can be a bit easier and for sure a whole lot more fun if we do it together. I'm Luca and I'm looking forward to seeing you in our next conversation.