The (Real) Magic Word
Most of us were taught that “the magic word” is please. Just say “please” and you’ll get what you want... (Maybe.)
We quickly learned that a certain kind of theatrics was required to unleash the word’s magic: begging and pleading. But pleading always feels disempowering — not very magical.
Fortunately, there’s a word with real magic: LET’S.
We used it mostly with other kids, since grown-ups didn’t really believe in magic. Nobody told us it was a magic word, we just knew intuitively that we could use it to co-create whatever we wanted:
- Let’s play!
- Let’s pretend!
- Let’s go puddle stomping!
- Let’s make a fairy castle!
- Let’s build a treehouse!
- Let’s start a band!
The essence of letting is allowing, which is the key to creativity. And the apostrophe-S stands for “us.” So LET’S is really an invitation to co-create.
It’s good to model politeness and use “please” with your kids, but if it turns into pleading, you’re modeling disempowerment. Switch to LET’S and you’ll model empowerment through partnership...
Before:
“Would you PLEEEEEASE help me clean up this mess!?” :-(
After:
“LET’S clean this up together!” :-)
 |
 |
 |