Word for something you don want to do

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Another word for sly?

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i dont think there is a another word for it.


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another word for possess is «to have»


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It’s impossible to find time to do something you don’t want to do.


Learn to say no, kindly but firmly, when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do.


You can become more relaxed by assertively telling someone «no» if they ask you to do something you don’t want to do.


Every day you have to do something you don’t want to do.

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I am a «yes» woman. I say yes to new career opportunities; to helping a friend move apartments; to listening to my sisters vent; to volunteer hours; to the extra project when I’m actually already in over my head. I say yes to parties, hikes, dinners and other get-togethers when, quite frankly, I don’t have the time or energy to be there. 

Meanwhile at home, the laundry is left undone, the sink is full of dishes and my orange tabby cat is begging for attention. And no one is at fault except me. 

I think it really hit me when, just a few days ago, I mapped out my next few weeks of work, social events and family gatherings and felt stress tears well up, realizing that there was no foreseeable break. 

On a calendar, it might look like there are breaks: There are holiday parties, a Spartan Race with my gym friends, a trip to see my family for Christmas and other fun things leading up to the New Year. 

But the thing is, those sorts of events don’t actually do anything to help me relax. Socializing is fun, but I’m mostly an introvert, so it definitely drains me (and then there’s the hangover, if I decide to drink). The Spartan Race is sure to be a good time, but it’s a physically demanding event. And of course, I’m thrilled to see my family for the holidays, but battling LAX and four hours on a plane won’t do much for my stress levels. 

I promise I’m not here to complain about how busy I am —  I’m grateful for it all — but I am here to tell you that you can (and definitely should) take breaks for the sake of your mental health. I’m here to tell you that if you’re a yes-person like me, you should start practicing the art of saying «no.» 

Learning to say no can change your life

Holding onto a hero mentality («I can do it all») for too long can seriously impact your mental health and quality of life. Taking on more than you can realistically achieve, particularly from clients or managers, will inevitably affect your quality of work. You may end up under-delivering, and then stressing about your workload and the possibility of under-delivering.

Bite off more than you can chew from friends and family, and you may end up straining your relationships. A person can only handle so much — you don’t want to over-promise and then snap when a friend or family member asks why you didn’t deliver on a promise or why you failed to attend an event you said you’d be at. 

At work and at home, the inability to say no can result in lack of sleep, emotional distress and eventually burnout. It’s not just about time, either: Saying yes to things that make you feel stressed, disconcerted or otherwise uncomfortable can take a toll on your mental and physical health.

On the flip side, learning when to say no helps you protect your mental and physical energy, as well as your time. When you say no to the things that don’t serve you, you can prioritize your own wellbeing, get enough rest, spend time engaging with hobbies you enjoy and enjoy socializing when you go to events and gatherings you want to say yes to.

Read more: 5 effective ways to relieve anxiety

Knowing when to say yes or no

It’s really quite simple: Say yes to things that make you feel good and say no to things that don’t. 

Most people today are severely overworked and overbooked, and can profoundly benefit from saying no to things that don’t make them squeal with glee. Stripping your schedule of events (and even work projects, if possible) can help you reserve more energy for the important things. 

Here are some examples of when you might want to say yes, but should say no: 

  • Someone needs a shift picked up and while you could use the extra money, you’ve only averaged five hours of sleep each night for the last week. 
  • Your friends schedule a last-minute event that sounds fun, but tonight is your only night of the week to stay in. 
  • Your in-laws want to stay with you for 10 days over the holidays and you want to be nice, but the thought of cooking for, cleaning up after and entertaining anyone for 10 days ties your stomach in knots.
  • Your best friend asks for a favor but it would cut into the only time you carved out this week to hang with your kids. 

Of course, there are caveats. Realistically, you can’t always say no to a work project that doesn’t enthrall you, and sometimes you’ll have to endure events you’re not particularly keen on attending. But this is about exercising your right to say no often enough that these occasional happenings don’t totally derail you.

You must also learn the difference between genuinely not wanting to do something because you know it won’t serve you, and not wanting to do something because you’re scared. It may be that you’re afraid to do something that will produce positive results in your life. 

An example of the latter: You’re an author. You don’t want to say yes to a public speaking engagement because public speaking makes you feel queasy. But if you do say yes, it’s possible that this public speaking engagement will land you a new deal, or at least a new connection. 

In the case above, you would benefit from saying yes even though your initial gut reaction was «No way!» In short, use your best judgement and aim for long-term benefits, rather than instant gratification. 

Read more: Forest bathing: The free cure for stress and anxiety?

How to say no 

Have you ever said yes to something and then lied your way out of it? Example: Your boss asks you to work an extra weekend shift and, not wanting to disappoint, you say yes on the spot, even though your stomach is twisting because you already have plans that day. Come the day of, you make up the best excuse you can think of to get out of the shift. 

No shame here — nearly everyone I know, myself included, has done this in some form or another. It’s an unfortunate tendency of people pleasers. But wouldn’t it be so much easier to just say no on the spot? Of course it would, so here are some tips for doing just that. 

  • Be direct. This is often the best approach, even if it feels difficult. Just say, «No, I can’t» or «No, I don’t want to.» 
  • Avoid apologies when they aren’t warranted. You don’t need to apologize for having made prior plans. 
  • Don’t say you’ll think about it when you know on the spot that you don’t want to do it. Again, just be direct. 
  • If appropriate, give thanks. For instance, if someone offers you a work project: «Thanks for thinking of me for this project, but I don’t have the bandwidth to take it on right now.» 
  • Offer an explanation and alternatives if necessary. Backtrack to the example of family staying over for 10 days. Say, «I’d love to see you, but hosting family for that long is hard on my schedule. What if we helped you arrange a stay at a hotel just a few minutes from the house?»

A blank to-do list written on a notebook, which lies on a wooden table.

You have the power to fill in your to-do list with events, activities and projects that make you happy — and to leave out the ones that don’t.


Getty Images

Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person

People pleasers, perfectionists and yes people tend to feel like saying no makes them a bad person. They might fear that turning down work projects or declining event invitations makes them seem selfish or downright mean. 

Saying no doesn’t make you any of those things. It only makes you protective of your time and energy, which is something we all deserve to be. If you’re a yes-person because you believe saying no is selfish or wrong, it’s time to let go of that belief. No isn’t an off-limits word; it’s something everyone can use at their own discretion. 

So starting now, I’m putting my foot down about saving my yeses for opportunities, events and happenings that make me want to jump up and down with happiness — and the things that will produce a long-term benefit — and whipping out the noes for ones that make me want to bite my fingernails. I hope you’ll care to join me. 

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

  • #1

Hello everyone! Please help!
There’s a sentence: “You don’t want to go on living with her”.
To make a proper translation, I need to know what does the idiom ‘you don’t want to do < something >’ mean.
Does it mean in the context of this sentence:
1) Don’t go on living with her!
2) I know that you don’t want to go on living with her.
3) How can you go on living with her?
4) You can’t go on living with her!
5) Your variant?
Thank you.

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 7, 2012

  • morzh


    • #2

    It means:

    It will be bad living with her, and you are better off avoiding it as much as possible.

    You don’t want to put your finger in boiling water. — you should avoid putting your finger in boiling water.
    You don’t really want to live in this part of the town — you should try to find a flat elsewhere.

    • #3

    It might mean any of those.

    P.S.: «Smth» is not an English abbreviation; that and other shorthand expressions used in texting are not permitted here.

    • #4

    I agree with morzh, actually. I would expand the sentence as «It would be a bad idea to keep on living with her.» It seems to me like «you don’t (really) want to do X» is a way of giving advice, not really a way of trying to make statements about «your» desires.

    morzh


    • #5

    << Response to deleted posts. >>

    On a serious note, I heard «you don’t want to do something» many-many times in my life, and only in that one meaning.

    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 7, 2012

    • #6

    … «Smth» is not an English abbreviation; that and other shorthand expressions used in texting are not permitted here.

    I’d just like to add that this is not just a rule here. This abbreviations and others like it, despite their use in some dictionaries to save space, are never used by native speakers. It is best to forget that they exist.

    • #7

    Thanks a lot for your explanations guys.

    I’ll keep in mind that advice on not using ‘smth’.

    Li'l Bull


    • #8

    It seems rather clear that the structure «You don’t want to do something» can be used to give advice or as a warning — very much like «you shouldn’t» or «you’d better not».

    My question is: Can this structure be used with a different subject? Most dictionaries I’ve checked have «You» as the subject. I’ve only found the following one with «he»: He wants to be more careful.

    So for instance, is the following sentence correct?: Please don’t talk about politics with my parents. We don’t want to turn the dinner party into a battlefield.

    PaulQ


    • #9

    The construction [Subject] don’t/doesn’t want to [verb] is fully conjugable. It is not really an idiom as a literal reading reveals its meaning. In the first person, it is simply a statement;

    «I/We don’t want to go to that dentist, he’s a butcher.»

    in all other forms it is subjective advice:

    «You don’t want to go to that dentist, he’s a butcher.»
    «He/She doesn’t want to go to that dentist, he’s a butcher.»
    «They don’t want to go to that dentist, he’s a butcher.»

    The first clause is invariably said in a concerned and worried voice; the second clause with a tone that implies «and that’s a fact!» or «I have warned you!»

    The past tense is heard in reported speech:

    «I told you you didn’t want to go to that dentist! But you didn’t listen, did you?»
    but is often rendered as
    «I told you you shouldn’t go to that dentist! But you wouldn’t listen, would you?»

    There is also a colloquial present continuous tense:

    «If you are visiting London, there’s the part called The East End, but you don’t want to be going there at night…»

    In all cases, the positive, which achieves the nuance of urging/a recommendation, is achieved by removing the «do not».

    List of top 100 famous quotes and sayings about something you don’t want to do to read and share with friends on your Facebook, Twitter, blogs.

    Top 100 Quotes About Something You Don’t Want To Do

    #1. If you’re going to do something, DO IT.
    If you want something, GET IT.
    Don’t just wish for it!
    — Mary Lynn H. Plaisance — Author: Mary Lynn Plaisance

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #832528

    #2. Stun me. I mean it. Draw the gun and shoot. I want you to do it, Kendra. Show me what it feels like. I’m looking for more. Show me something I don’t know. Stun me to my DNA. Come on, do it. Click the switch. Aim and fire. I want the volts the weapon holds. Do it. Shoot it. Now. — Author: Don DeLillo

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1243352

    #3. It’s not about him or you. It’s what’s between you, the connection.People can see it, even when you’re trying to act casual. they don’t want you, or him. Well, some do. But I think it’s more…they want that energy, that ungraspable…something between you two.»

    «Is it love? — Author: Jim Provenzano

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1228246

    #4. This next part is not going to be any fun, but it’s like taking off a band-aid. It has to be done. — Author: Kenneth Eade

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1224863

    #5. I usually have to find something where I go, «I have to do this.» Sometimes you don’t even know what the question you’re trying to answer is, but you go, «This is something I need to explore and want to explore, and it’s inside me in a way that I think I can do a good job with.» — Author: John Lee Hancock

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1120178

    #6. If you want something that’s going to provide you with a lot of challenges and a variety of different things to do, then you really can’t beat a place like the Air Force. I don’t mean this to sound like a recruiting pitch. But it’s been a lot of fun. — Author: Michael P. Anderson

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1078591

    #7. I didn’t intend. The word «intend» is the wrong word for what I do. It’s just that it’s something you do, and you can’t not do. If you want to do it, and you don’t intend to, you do it anyway. The word «intend» is wrong. The word «pressure» is right. It’s like any art form. — Author: Grace Paley

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1048972

    #8. You see?» he asked, his voice softening to a velvety punas he felt her tremble. His warm breath stirred her hair. «All I have to do is touch you. It’s the same for me, Faith. I don’t like this worth a damn, but by God, I want you, and we’re going to do something about it. — Author: Linda Howard

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #968457

    #9. Want to heat up your love life? Do something you don’t enjoy doing, but your partner does. And do it with no thought of return … only out of love. — Author: Toni Sorenson

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #887504

    #10. When you say «Yes» to something, you include something you do want in your experience. When you say «No» to something, you include something you don’t want in your experience. — Author: Esther Hicks

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #874450

    #11. People only love you as long as they’re getting something of you, but the minute you say something they don’t want to hear or do something they don’t want to see, all the admiration drains from their hearts. — Author: Chris Colfer

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #856999

    #12. If you are a Church Of One, do you trust your congregation? When you want to be inspired by an icon representing something bigger than yourself, don’t you ever get tired of just looking into the mirror? — Author: Frank Schaeffer

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #843776

    #13. You want a career? Do that first. You don’t want to have kids? Then don’t. You don’t want to get married? Then don’t. But once you do something, you’ve got to know that there is compromise. — Author: Iman

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #839462

    #14. If you want to do something dangerous … Don’t tell your girlfriend! — Author: Christopher Titus

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1243499

    #15. Yeah, the world must be going to a camp-meeting hell when something like that can happen, ‘ I agreed. ‘But that don’t matter now. All that matters now is, do we have an understanding here or do you want to see if you can learn how to breathe through your forehead? — Author: Stephen King

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #807496

    #16. It’s really how you deal with people. Do people respect you? Are you honest with people even if it’s something they don’t want to hear? Anyone in Hollywood will tell you I’m extremely up front and honest almost to a fault. — Author: Ving Rhames

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #786686

    #17. When you do something that works you have a happiness, but I don’t know if it’s a feeling of power. Power is a frightening thing and that’s not what I’m interested in. I want to do certain things and make them right in my mind and that’s it. — Author: David Lynch

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #749183

    #18. When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up — and for me it’s tennis. — Author: Roger Federer

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #733205

    #19. You don’t just turn on a camera and do a cooking show. If you want to go somewhere with something, you’ve got to make it look like what it’s supposed to look like five years from now. — Author: Nadia Giosia

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #695247

    #20. I think we can be very narrow-minded in this country; you see something that someone’s done and immediately want them to do the same thing again — but if they don’t, they’re criticised for not doing the same thing again, but if they do they’re just repeating themselves. — Author: Andy Serkis

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #689665

    #21. If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. — Author: Jim Rohn

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #675945

    #22. Things that don’t have a big impact seem to be crucial. Always when you go out to make a movie you have questions, «What if this doesn’t work? What if that doesn’t work?» you want to cover yourself, you want to bring back enough [footage] so you can do something. — Author: Ang Lee

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #670198

    #23. That’s why I love improvisational theater so much — you do it [scene] once and then it’s done. You don’t get bogged down with a lot of preplanning and repetition. If I do something and it gets a laugh, I don’t want to do it again. Why bother? I’m just repeating myself. It’s boring. — Author: Amy Sedaris

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #668403

    #24. I retired once but you’ve got to have something to retire to and I don’t want to do anything. My job is like a well paid hobby, I mean not a hobby but I’m not lining up every morning at the bus queue to go to work. I’m very lucky. — Author: Ozzy Osbourne

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #655961

    #25. You know what it’s like to persuade a pigheaded child to do something they don’t want to. If they hear the same suggestion from someone else, they’ll go right off and do it. — Author: Mary Wesley

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #647748

    #26. Jeb suddenly looked right at me, and something in those flinty eyes made me want to back away, snarling. «You don’t mind, do you girl?»
    «Not at all,» I replied, staring him down, «if you ask me nicely! — Author: Julie Kagawa

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1525891

    #27. If you want something badly enough, make an attempt. If you want to paint, get a brush and do it. If you want to sing, sing. A lot of people get scared. They’re afraid to fail. Take that word out of your vocabulary. You don’t «fail.» You’ve «tried your best.» — Author: Jane Seymour

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1862329

    #28. I am overcome by my own amazing sloth … Can you please forgive me and believe that it is really because I want to do something well that I don’t do it at all? — Author: Elizabeth Bishop

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1825978

    #29. I don’t want to be reincarnated, that’s for sure. When you’ve had rewarding experiences in your life — a loving family, friends — you don’t need additional reassurances that you’re going to do something with a new cast of characters. I’d just as soon pass. — Author: Lewis Thomas

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1763376

    #30. You have to have a personal connection. You have to really want to do it, because if you don’t, investing yourself personally, your thoughts, your emotions, yourself into a part, is something you’re not going to want to do as much. — Author: Philip Seymour Hoffman

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1758564

    #31. Sometimes, it’s really important to move with all deliberate speed. If there is something out there that you want to do to make the world a better place, don’t focus on the obstacles. Don’t ask for permission. Just dive in. Don’t let the naysayers get you down. — Author: John Wood

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1744443

    #32. You can do something that walks a line, and invariably, whatever that line is, it will be crossed by people who don’t know any better and want to ape the success. — Author: David Fincher

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1738291

    #33. Stubborn’ just means you don’t want to do something somebody else wants you to do, and ‘annoying’ just means somebody else is frustrated that you won’t obey them. — Author: Orson Scott Card

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1704507

    #34. It takes a lot of things to work together in order to be wealthy but with a little luck, a lot of luck … You’ve got to be good at something. For a 20-year-old, you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do, you’ve just got to go find something you can be great at, and then go be great at it. — Author: Mark Cuban

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1696107

    #35. It’s not that we don’t want to be all over the radio. I’d love to have a hit single. However, I also want to be in the business a long time and longevity is something that we all wanted. In order to have that, you have to be true to what you do and to each other. — Author: Margo Timmins

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1684371

    #36. It’s hard to make changes. Things get so comfortable and you don’t want to move. Maybe it would do you good to be a little uncomfortable for a while, and do something different … — Author: Danielle Steel

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1585103

    #37. If you really want to do something, no one can stop you. But if you really don’t want to do something, no one can help you — Author: James A. Owen

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1557083

    #38. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. To get something better, you know? — Author: Miranda Kenneally

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1534161

    #39. I used to be bound by people who placed limits on what they thought I could do. Through that, I learned that if you want something, you have to be the one to go out and do it If you don’t ask for something, you’re not going to get it. — Author: Ashley Graham

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #471468

    #40. I would wake up at night and think, ‘What the hell have I gotten myself into? You don’t want to do that!’ But you gotta do something, and with art, there’s freedom — which is actually very seldom practiced by artists. — Author: Richard Artschwager

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1522933

    #41. I feel like this: When you call me in to do something with you, you must want me to do soul-singing. Because you know I’m a soul singer. Don’t ask me to come in and rap. And don’t ask me to come in and sing pop. — Author: Sharon Jones

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1506272

    #42. I don’t really want to do the Hollywood thing. I think you ought to try to say something with your movies. — Author: Ellen Page

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1494119

    #43. You want to know something? Honestly, I was relieved. What a coward, huh?»
    I don’t think so.»
    «Oh, yes. I am. A big coward. That’s why I just keep daring myself to do things I’m afraid of doing.»
    He had a notion. «Such things like?»
    «Like bringing you up here to my room. — Author: Michael Chabon

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1486570

    #44. Acting and the industry of making movies is beautiful, but it’s so exhausting and such hard work; if you don’t absolutely 100% want to do something, it defeats the purpose. — Author: Debby Ryan

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1466007

    #45. Music business is not for everyone. But if you have it in you, you have that passion, if you have that energy in you that you really want to make something creative and make something that’s going to impact the world, then go for it, do it and don’t let anybody tell you no. — Author: John Legend

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1452539

    #46. Guinevere grimaced. ‘Do you know how cloying love can be, Derfel? I don’t want to be worshipped. I don’t want every whim granted. I want to feel there’s something biting back. — Author: Bernard Cornwell

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1385898

    #47. I get up in the morning and do a seven-minute yoga workout. I know the most likely time I’m going to do something is when I first get up, and I make it short because, like you, I don’t really want to do that first thing in the morning. — Author: Mehmet Oz

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1357907

    #48. You really can’t explain how you do the things you do. I can’t, anyway. I love certain actors, but sometimes they say the stupidest things about technique. I don’t want to say something stupid. — Author: Kirsten Dunst

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1351884

    #49. Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that … I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and theAmericans know it. — Author: Ariel Sharon

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1316160

    #50. Just because you don’t want to see something doesn’t mean that it will go away. Do you think inhumanity doesn’t exist if you pretend not to see it? Or maybe get too drunk to understand? We’ve forgotten the things that make life worthwhile. — Author: Bethany Griffin

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #1261233

    #51. If you’re suddenly doing something you don’t want to do for four years, just so you’ve got something to fall back on, by the time you come out you don’t have that 16-year-old drive any more and you’ll spend your life doing something you never wanted to do in the first place. — Author: Ewan McGregor

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #119713

    #52. If you want to write, then write; if you don’t want to write, then don’t write. I fell into the former category, and I just made the decision that I’d keep on because I liked it and might someday do something decent. — Author: Ben Fountain

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #233077

    #53. 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer
    Write.
    Write more.
    Write even more.
    Write even more than that.
    Write when you don’t want to.
    Write when you do.
    Write when you have something to say.
    Write when you don’t.
    Write every day.
    Keep writing. — Author: Brian Clark

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #217125

    #54. I didn’t have any vices before the Internet. There are a lot of cracks in the day, moments where you don’t know what to do next, so you have a little hole where you look at your phone. You want something that will mean you’re not alone in that moment. — Author: Miranda July

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #172882

    #55. Every film is a crapshoot. It’s a mystery when a movie comes together. I’ve never been able to figure it out. I don’t know how I make my choices. The only thing you can do is know there’s something about a character that you really want to experience. — Author: Elisabeth Shue

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #172807

    #56. I would just imagine there’s a criticism for just about everything, if you want to take something down. No one’s invincible. The Jicks are a work in progress and we don’t think everything we do is the bee’s knees or something, we’re just trying our best to get turned on by what we’re doing. — Author: Stephen Malkmus

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #172597

    #57. So few people vote these days, and I think it’s partly because they don’t feel like the institution really means anything to them. If you want them to vote, give them opportunities to do something else other than vote, to help. — Author: Jennifer Pahlka

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #166821

    #58. You should not do an autobiography if you want to tell the truth. There are a lot of things I know about people. If I can’t say something good about a person, I don’t want to say anything. And since I don’t want to say anything bad, I won’t write a book. — Author: Abraham A. Ribicoff

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #164506

    #59. I want to do something splendid … something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it and mean to astonish you all someday. — Author: Louisa May Alcott

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #158742

    #60. It’s in the act of having to do things that you don’t want to that you learn something about moving past the self. Past the ego. — Author: Bell Hooks

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #154072

    #61. As an actor, you express certain things because they need to be expressed, and then you don’t really feel a need to do it again. I want to feel something else, you know? — Author: Chiwetel Ejiofor

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #153287

    #62. Everybody has something, that one thing they must do to feel happy. I think this is yours, and I want you to be happy. You don’t have to do it, but it’s here if you choose to come back to it. — Author: Ilona Andrews

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #142591

    #63. If you want to do something you have to imagine it. If you don’t imagine it, it will never happen — Author: Muhammad Yunus

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #136106

    #64. Don’t do something just because someone else wants you to — Author: Kristen Wiig

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #238558

    #65. If you don’t want to do something,don’t impose on others — Author: Confucius

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #114266

    #66. If you want to be creative, don’t try to do something new. Doing something new means NOT doing what’s been done before, and that’s a negative impulse. Negative impulses are frustrating. They’re the opposite of creativity, and they never yield good ideas … — Author: Eva Zeisel

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #112536

    #67. My family has been around campaigns for a long time. It’s something you really have to be sure that you alone want to do. Because if not, if you don’t want to do it, that will just blow through the surface at some point, and people can tell. And when people can tell, it’s all over. — Author: Joseph P. Kennedy III

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #112251

    #68. You don’t feel the need to talk all the time, do you,» she said.
    He smiled. «No.»
    «Most people don’t know how to appreciate silence. They can’t help talking.»
    «I talk, I just want to have something to say first. — Author: Nicholas Sparks

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #105778

    #69. I always freak out when people ask me about my favorite bands or my five favorite records, I just can never do that because it goes through different waves and sometimes you want to listen to something and at other times you want to listen to something else so I don’t know. — Author: John Bush

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #99555

    #70. I would like for people to not be stuck by the rules of what is expected of a classical musician. If you really want to do something different, don’t be afraid to do so. Think of music itself and not the rules or expectations of people. — Author: Charlie Albright

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #98911

    #71. Ultimately you want to do something in life that people will remember. And with Buffy, I did that. I don’t feel like I need to achieve something. I just do it because it’s fun. And that takes the pressure off. — Author: Sarah Michelle Gellar

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #94320

    #72. Security is something when you don’t have any confidence and you want somebody to pay you when you don’t do the job. — Author: Jack McKeon

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #88113

    #73. People think you want them to do something or say something special … you don’t. You just want them to be themselves, so you can be yourself. — Author: John Lennon

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #82063

    #74. If you don’t wake up at three in the morning and want to do something, you’re wasting your time. — Author: Harold Eugene Edgerton

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #46578

    #75. I do give myself a break in my personal life but I think in work, if you don’t push yourself you get bored and want to do something else. — Author: Diane Kruger

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #29207

    #76. Selling out is doing something you don’t really want to do for money. That’s what selling out is. — Author: Bono

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #336161

    #77. Riches … don’t consist in having things, but in not having to do something you don’t want to do … Riches is being able to thumb your nose. — Author: Josephine Tey

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #449257

    #78. As an athlete, when you have a desire and a want to do something, you fight for it. And it doesn’t matter how long your journey is; it’s whether you give up or don’t. — Author: Troy Dumais

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #438407

    #79. You can’t just move backward. You can’t push the chicken back into the egg, wine back into the grape, the boy back into the womb. If you want the baby to let go of your watch, you don’t just try to explain that he ought to do it — you offer him something he would rather have. — Author: Isaac Asimov

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #422171

    #80. No, Xander. Not this time. You don’t lie to someone you’re in love with. You don’t keep secrets from each other. But you do. You don’t trust me. You went inside my head and took something from me and you think it’s okay. It’s not! I’m not your human pet who you can do whatever you want with. — Author: Ashlan Thomas

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #412366

    #81. When you don’t know how to cook, you just say, ‘I need something quick,’ and then you fry something up. Now that I cook, I think, ‘Do I want to have fried fish, baked fish, or grilled fish?’ — Author: Larry Fitzgerald

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #401061

    #82. I don’t understand’, I say,’why they care what I think, as long as I’m acting how they want me to.’
    ‘You’re acting how they want you to now’, he says,’but what happens when your Abnegation-wired brain tells you to do something else, something they don’t want? — Author: Veronica Roth

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #398418

    #83. When you have beaten guys a few times, you don’t want them to think they know how you are going to play them. You have to try and find different ways of beating them. You have to do things they don’t expect sometimes, put something unpredictable into your game. — Author: Andy Murray

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #396368

    #84. There are five things to write songs about: I’m leaving you. You’re leaving me. I want you. You don’t want me. I believe in something. Five subjects, and 12 notes. For all that, we musicians do pretty well. — Author: Elvis Costello

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #389363

    #85. I don’t consider myself a feminist, but I’m down for my first opportunity to say something to the world to be so meaningful. If you asked me, ‘What do you want to say?’ it would be, ‘Love yourself more.’ — Author: Meghan Trainor

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #386219

    #86. Come on guys, let’s be serious. If you really want to do something, don’t just ‘like’ this post. Write that you are ready, and we can try to start something» [Mustafa Nayyem quoted in Chrystia Freeland, «Euromaidan, Kiev: A Place Becomes A Movement»]. — Author: Catie Marron

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #377787

    #87. You don’t want to do something that’s all terrifying. — Author: Maurice Sendak

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #359451

    #88. Visualization is often used for evil — twisting insignificant data changes and making them look meaningful. Don’t do that crap if you want to be my friend. Present results clearly and honestly. If something isn’t working — those reviewing results need to know. — Author: John Tukey

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #357514

    #89. When you love, whatever you do is because you want to do it. It becomes a pleasure, it’s like a game, and you have fun with it. When you love, you don’t expect something to happen; whatever happens is okay, and hardly anything disappoints you. — Author: Miguel Angel Ruiz

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #16320

    #90. When you work hard to do something right, you don’t want to forget it. — Author: Ted Bundy

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #308895

    #91. When people start asking you to do the same thing over and over again, that’s when you know you’re way too close to something that you don’t want to be near. — Author: Neil Young

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #308227

    #92. When you get the money, you still need to keep going; you don’t stop. There has to be something else. I think it’s the freedom to do what you want and to live your dreams. — Author: Paul McCartney

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #296416

    #93. Do it. Before they send those mutts back or something. I don’t want to die like Cato,» he says.
    «Then you shoot me,» I say furiously, shoving the weapons back at him. «You shoot me and go home and live with it!» And as I say it, I know death right here, right now would be the easier of the two. — Author: Suzanne Collins

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #292854

    #94. Love is doing something you don’t want to do for someone you don’t particularly like at that moment. — Author: Tom Hardy

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #284259

    #95. You don’t have to choose, Hannah. It’s not success or fun. It’s not life or love. You don’t have to just pick one door to walk through. You can have both. It’s okay. You just have to go out and do something about it. Don’t sit back and let life happen to you. Go grab what you want, whatever it is. — Author: Jessica Love

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #276296

    #96. When you do something, you miss something else! If you don’t want to miss anything, you have to do everything! — Author: Mehmet Murat Ildan

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #261112

    #97. Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don’t want to believe that. But if you’re over age twenty-one, your life is what you’re making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities — Author: John C. Maxwell

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #254354

    #98. Every medium has its own kind of freedom. I don’t want to just cross from one to the next. I want to enjoy the freedom each one has. Sometimes, you can do something for TV that you can’t do in the cinema. — Author: Takashi Miike

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #248736

    #99. I’m sick of remakes, how about something different. That’s the thing — people always come to me and are like ‘what do you want to remake, we know we can get that greenlight, what do you want to make?’ I don’t want to remake a g-d damn focking think. — Author: Rob Zombie

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #242084

    #100. The soap opera was so long ago — the thing about soap operas, and there’s something to be said for doing it, but you do a script a day. I don’t want to say it’s a training ground; it really isn’t, but what it does teach you is discipline. — Author: Frank Grillo

    Quotes About Something You Don't Want To Do #241775

    do the things you don't want to do

    The way to get ahead in life is to do the things you don’t want to do.

    Without a doubt, you’ve heard the following a million times: set priorities, identify the most important thing that you need to get done, and then get to work on that thing first. Most people know this is what they need to do—it’s the only way to get ahead in life. But then, why don’t they do it?

    Because the most important thing that needs to get done is—more often than not–really hard to do. The odds are high that it’s something complex, difficult, challenging, novel, or risky. Sometimes, it’s all of these things combined.

    onehouradayformula banner longThat’s why another way of saying “do the most important thing first” is “eat the frog”. After all, nobody wants to eat a frog. Frogs are ugly and slimy. Eating a frog sounds incredibly unpleasant. And so do all of the following:

    • Calling a new prospect and asking for their business
    • Learning something that’s completely foreign to you—like coding.
    • Tackling an important, high-profile project at work.
    • Creating a new source of income.

    But those are the things that will get you the results that you’re after, and the big rewards.

    So, how do you get yourself to take the plunge and get to work on those big, hairy, overwhelming tasks? In this post you’ll discover ten tips for getting yourself to do the things you have to do to get ahead, even if you don’t want to do them.

    1. Exit the Avoidance Zone as Soon As Possible

    The Avoidance Zone is that space of being in which there’s something important that you need to get done, but you keep putting it off. You put it off by getting to work on unimportant things: items that are lower down on your list of priorities; tasks that someone else should be doing; or mindless activities like checking your twitter feed for the umpteenth time.

    It’s an awful place be to be in, full of dread and anxiety. The task that you need to get to is always looming in the back of your mind, no matter how much you try to think of other things.

    In addition, when you’re in the Avoidance Zone you’re not getting anything important done. Therefore, you’re suffering, but you have nothing of value to show for that suffering.

    To make matters worse, the longer you put something off, the scarier it gets. The task that must be done, but that you’re desperately avoiding, gets bigger and uglier with every passing day. And the bigger and uglier it gets, the harder it is to get to it.

    Start recognizing when you’re in the Avoidance Zone, and then get yourself out of there as soon as possible. The only way to get out of the Avoidance Zone is to get to work on the task that you’ve been putting off.

    2. Demystify the Task by Unpacking It

    It’s incredibly difficult to get to work on a task that looks like something you’ve never done before. However, the key here is that—whatever the task is–it just looks like something new. The reality is that once you unpack the task, you’ll realize that it’s comprised of subtasks that you are familiar with.

    Imagine for a moment that, like most people, you know nothing about coding. However, it’s something that you need to learn to do if you want to get ahead in your profession. Although coding looks incredibly foreign—and, therefore, scary– once you unpack it you’ll realize the following:

    • You can learn to code by reading a book on coding. Is reading something you’re familiar with? Yes, of course it is.
    • You can learn to code by taking an online course. That just means watching and paying attention to videos. Have you done that before? Yes, you have.
    • To be able to code, you have to learn to code. Have you ever tried to learn something that you’ve been unfamiliar with in the past? You’ve done it thousands of times. At one time, all of the following were new to you: writing, multiplying, riding a bike, typing, using social media, and so on. Yet, you learned how to do all of these things.
    • Coding is just telling a computer what to do by giving it instructions. Have you ever given someone instructions on how to do something? Of course, you have.
    • Coding has a specific syntax. It can be compared to learning music or learning to speak another language. Most of us can play at least a simple song on some musical instrument (recorder, I’m looking at you), or put together a few simple sentences in another language. That’s all coding is: learning computer syntax.
    • In addition, some people have compared coding to playing with Legos, which is something that lots of people know how to do.

    All of a sudden, coding doesn’t look so unfamiliar and strange any more. Right? In fact, it’s looking more and more accessible. That’s because we took a moment to unpack it, and thereby demystify it.

    3. Focus On Prevention

    Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D., explains that when you’re striving to achieve a goal, your focus can be on either promotion or prevention. If you have a promotion focus, then you’re focused on everything that you’ll gain by achieving the goal. But when you have a prevention focus, your focus is on the negative consequences that you’ll be able to avoid by attaining the goal.

    The problem with having a promotion focus is that it often leads to procrastination. This is because thoughts of achievement will often lead to self-talk like the following:

    • “What if a fail?”
    • “What if it’s not good enough?”

    The end result of these thoughts is that you’ll look for ways to put off the task in a desperate attempt to avoid those consequences. That is, to avoid failing or producing sub-par work.

    On the other hand, if you have a prevention focus, then you’re focused on doing what needs to be done in order to avoid a negative result. A prevention focus lowers the bar, which makes it easier to get started with the task.

    In addition, a prevention focus will get you to act because acting is the only way to get yourself out of danger – such as the danger of losing your job if you don’t hand in your work assignments on time.

    With a prevention focus, instead of visions of grandeur, you’re just trying to get yourself to safety. This focus will force you to eliminate the nonessential, stop waffling, and get to it. Do the things you don’t want to do by focusing on prevention.

    4. Stop Saying You Don’t Know Where to Start

    Here’s one of the favorite excuses for people who are trying to avoid difficult tasks: “I can’t work on that task, because I don’t know what to do”. Well, guess what. There’s something called “Google”.

    If you don’t know how to get started on a task, search for “how do I get started. . . (insert task here)?” Here’s an illustration: “How do I get started if I want to learn to code?” When you don’t know how to get started with a task, then begin by researching what you need to do in order to get started.

    5. Schedule It

    Important tasks need to be scheduled in order to get done. In fact, most productivity experts will agree that you should work on your most important task of the day first thing in the morning. By doing the most important thing first, then every day you’ll get something important done.

    6. Set a Timer

    Help yourself to get started with a difficult task by telling yourself that the task won’t last forever. You do this by setting a time limit. Set your timer for 25, 30, or 45 minutes. Then, get to work on the task—with no distractions—until the timer goes off.

    No matter how much discomfort you may feel while you’re working on the task—because it’s difficult and requires a lot of focus and effort—you know that there’s an end to your suffering, and it’s coming soon. You just have to keep going until the timer goes off.

    7. Focus On What’s Right In Front of You

    Once you’ve set your timer, focus on the work that’s right in front of you. That is, don’t think of everything that you need to do in order to finish the task. Instead, keep your attention on what you’re doing now.

    As an illustration, if you’re working on an eBook, don’t think of the 50,000 words you have to write in order to finish it. Just focus on the one-thousand words that you need to write right now.

    Do what you don’t want to do by taking your eyes off the staircase and placing all of your focus on the next step.

    8. Be Willing to Enter the Discomfort Zone

    When you finally do take the plunge and get to work on the task that you’ve been avoiding, you’ll find yourself entering the Discomfort Zone. After all, you’ve been avoiding the task because it’s uncomfortable (difficult, complex, new to you, and so on).

    You’ve heard me say this a thousand times on this blog: get comfortable with discomfort. That’s because it’s so important—learning to tolerate discomfort is one of the keys to success.

    Nonetheless, when most people feel discomfort, the first thing they do is try to run away from it. The next time that you’re tempted to avoid the discomfort of working on a difficult task by fleeing from it, try the following meditation recommended by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits:

    Now we’re going to do “pause training,” where instead of running from the discomfort, you pause. Breathe. Turn your attention to this discomfort — it might be fear, frustration, uncertainty, self-doubt, tiredness. Drop your story about this discomfort, and just notice how it feels physically, in your body. Where is this feeling of discomfort located? What quality does it have? You’ll notice that the discomfort actually doesn’t feel that bad, even though you habitually want to run from it. It’s just energy. It’s not actually good or bad, but just energy that’s in your body, one that you normally don’t want to have and normally judge as “bad.”

    By pausing for a moment and sitting with your discomfort, instead of turning away from it, you’ll realize that it’s really not that bad. You can take it. At least until the timer goes off.

    9. Know It Gets Easier – Enter the Productivity Zone

    This post started with the Avoidance Zone. That’s that awful space in which you feel dread and anxiety because you know there’s a task you should be working on, but that you’re avoiding. In addition, you have nothing to show for your suffering.

    Once you finally get started with the task, you enter the Discomfort Zone, and there’s still suffering. In fact, things may even feel like they’re getting worse, at least at first. You may feel confused, frustrated, and even more stressed than you felt before. However, now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

    As you familiarize yourself with the task, the discomfort begins to lessen. Soon, you find yourself entering the Productivity Zone. In the Productivity Zone, things are good. You feel like you know what you’re doing, you’re alert and engaged, and you realize that you’re making progress.

    10. Keep Going Until You’re Done

    Once you’ve gotten started on an important task by following the tips above, keep working on the task on a consistent basis until you’re done. This may take a couple of hours, an hour-a-day for a few days, three weeks, or even several months. Just keep going until you’re done.

    Then, once you’re done, stop. Fight the urge to add a little bit more here, and maybe something else over there. Once you’re done, you’re done. Stop!

    Conclusion

    People often state that a lack of time is the reason why they don’t get to the high-impact items on their to do list. If this is you, realize that it’s just an excuse. The real reason you’re not getting to those important items is because you don’t want to do them, because they’re hard.

    Get to work on the most important items on your to do list by following the ten tips above. Live your best life by doing the things you don’t want to do.


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    Related Posts:

    • Double Your Productivity With Personal Kanban
    • 10 Ways to Improve Your Focus and Sharpen Your Attention
    • 18 Powerful Tips for Overcoming Procrastination
    • 12 Tips for Defeating Procrastination and Gearing Up for Action

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    By Robby

    If you are new here please read this first.

    12 English phrases meaning something completely different

    Improve Spoken English

    I often touch upon the subject of English idiomatic expressions on this blog for the simple reason that more often than not our every-day speech consists of such and similar word combinations and it’s making our speech so much more easier!

    Just look at the above paragraph – it’s stuffed with various idiomatic expressions and collocations, and the one common trait they all share is that you have to learn the EXACT way they’re used so that you can learn them off by heart and then use them in your own conversations.

    Then there are proper English idioms you can’t even understand unless you actually know what they mean – such as “It’s no skin off my nose” or “Until the cows come home”.

    There are, however, certain English phrases that may at first sound as if they don’t have any double-meanings AT ALL, yet they mean something completely different!

    If you’re an advanced English speaker and you’ve been communicating with real people in real life for years, this list will probably reveal nothing new to you.

    If you’re someone who’s just starting off in an English speaking country, for example, the following phrases might turn out to be an eye-opener for you! 😉

    You don’t want to do that!

    If you take this phrase literally, it sounds as if someone is making a statement that you don’t want to do something (in which case it doesn’t really make an awful lot of sense – I mean, how can someone else possibly know what I do or what I don’t want to do?!)

    In reality though, this phrase is used when advising someone not to do something, so the real message behind this expression is “You shouldn’t do it!”

    Why do English speaking people say “You don’t want to do that!” instead of simply saying that one SHOULDN’T do it?

    Well – it’s just the way conversational English goes! Don’t ask WHY – just accept that it’s the way native English speakers speak, and life is going to be a whole lot easier for you.

    Another version of the same phrase – “You don’t want to be doing that!” – is used just like the original one, and once again – don’t ask WHY there are two different versions of this phrase in use.

    Just accept it and use whichever one you want to use! 😀

    He can’t help himself

    When I heard the English verb “to help” used in this context for the first time, I thought the person in question must be physically handicapped once they can’t help themselves.

    I mean – the word “to help” is quite simple and straightforward, so when someone can’t help themselves, they quite literally can’t assist themselves with performing certain tasks, isn’t that right?

    Turns out it’s not the case!

    When someone says about another person that they can’t help themselves, it means the person in question can’t RESIST doing something, they’re too weak to say NO to themselves

    Let’s say, you’re eating too much chocolate on a daily basis, and your work colleague asks you one day why you’re eating so much chocolate every day. You can simply respond by saying “I just can’t help myself!” which means that it’s a habit so strong you can’t resist it.

    Shut up!

    When someone tells you to shut up, it’s quite clear what they want to tell you, isn’t that right?

    They’re telling you to shut your mouth, and needless to say, it’s quite rude to be talking to someone like that.

    Sometimes, however, the phrase “Shut up!” can be used to express something completely different – namely, your amazement at something the other person is telling you about.

    So if you’re speaking with an English speaking person and they respond to you by saying “Shut up! I can’t believe it!”, it doesn’t necessarily mean they want you to shut your mouth and stop talking to them. It merely means they’re so surprised at what you just said that they’re using the phrase “Shut up!” as means of expressing they disbelief or excitement.

    Sure enough, you’ll be able to read the true meaning of those words off the other person’s face and tone of voice – the role of body language can’t be underestimated, after all.

    There might be some occasions, however, when you’d think the other person is being rude to you while in reality there’s no harm intended, so please bear in mind that the expression “Shut up!” can also have a pretty harmless meaning!

    Go away!

    I don’t know about you, but where I live (Ireland) this phrase is used the same way as the one above (“Shut up!”) when expressing your surprise at something the other person has just said.

    Basically it’s just another way of saying “Really?!”, and when they say “Go away!”, nobody means it literally. It’ just a way of letting the other person know that you’re shocked to hear it, and you may as well start using this phrase in your own daily English conversations.

    I see!

    This is a very, very simple English phrase, but when an average beginner English student sees it, on 9 times out of 10 they’ll think it means that someone is saying that they SEE something.

    In fact, the phrase “I see!” is used conversationally all the time when people want to say that they get it, that they UNDERSTAND it, and this is actually something that a lot of foreign English speakers should learn pretty early in their lives.

    On way too many occasions my fellow foreigners say “I understand” while the phrase they should be using is “I see”!

    You see, “I understand” sounds way too formal when used during your daily conversations, so I warmly suggest you start using the much more friendlier version of it “I see!” instead.

    See where I’m coming from?

    If someone asks you if you see where they’re coming from, you may assume they mean it quite literally, in which case you may be thinking “How on Earth am I supposed to know where they’re coming from?!”

    When people ask you this question, what they actually mean to say is “Do you understand the reasons why I’m saying this?”

    Basically the conversation would go something like this:

    “I think we should swap this machine for the other one because the production output is much lower now that the busy season is over.”

    You: ???

    “You see where I’m coming from?” (Do you understand why I’m suggesting we should swap the machines on the production line?)

    You: “I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about! Can you explain everything to me step-by-step please?”

    You may want to…

    This phrase may seem a bit confusing at first. You may… You want… Why “You MAY WANT” then? Why are the two words grouped together? Does it mean you’re giving the other person a permission to do something as in “You may do it”?

    What this phrase actually means is quite the opposite to giving someone a permission to do something – it’s all about giving the other person a suggestion that they should probably choose to do whatever it is you’re telling them to do!

    Why not simply say “You should…” instead?

    Well, you see – “You may want to…” is a very polite way of letting someone know as to what would be the right course of action while “You should…” might actually sound like a command rather than a suggestion!

    I don’t buy it!

    This English phrase has nothing to do with buying stuff, it’s all about BELIEVING what you’re told! 😉

    If someone makes an empty promise to you or you’re told some news you don’t believe, you can respond with saying “I don’t buy it!” in which case you’re simply making it clear you don’t believe what you’re told.

    I’m looking forward to…

    As a beginner English student you may think this phrase means to be looking straight ahead of you (as opposed to be looking backwards or sideways, for example).

    In conversational English and also in English in general, however, this phrase has a completely different meaning – it simply means to be expecting something, to be really waiting on something to happen!

    I remember when I’d just started living in Ireland 11 years ago, my supervisor asked me at work if I was looking forward to my holidays, to which I didn’t really know what to say because the sentence didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

    Now I know only too well that it means to be expecting something, and in case you didn’t know it – it’s about time to add this English phrase onto your vocabulary!

    Tell me about it!

    “Tell me about it!” doesn’t mean “TELL me ABOUT it”.

    It means “Yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about – I have the same experience!”

    Here’s a situation to describe exactly what I’m talking about here:

    You: “My little sister is real nightmare – she constantly makes demands to our mom and cries if she doesn’t get what she wants!”

    Your friend: “Tell me about it!”

    What your friends is telling you is – “Yeah, I can completely relate to that because I also have a little sister who’s behaving that way!”

    So now that you know what this phrase means, you wouldn’t start telling your friend MORE ABOUT it. You’d simply understand your friend is going through a similar experience!

    It doesn’t hurt to…

    When someone tells you that it doesn’t hurt to do something, they don’t literally mean that it’s not going to be painful.

    What they mean to tell you is that the activity in question is going to result is something really beneficial to you, so it’s definitely worth doing it!

    How do you find this…?

    I remember someone asked me how I found my job to which I started telling them about the recruitment agency who helped me to land my job with the company…

    What that person actually meant was – “What do you THINK ABOUT your job?” – so in this case the English verb “to find” has another meaning on top of the most common one which is to actually find something after you’ve been looking for it!

    * * *

    Now, did you find this article interesting?

    Did you learn a few new English phrases you didn’t know existed?

    If so – let your friends know about them by using the social sharing tool below!

    Thanks for reading,

    Robby 😉

    P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!

    P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!

    English Harmony System

    P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!

    English Harmony System

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