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# Four Words That Can Make You Suspicious of Yourself When You Say Them
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/four_words_05171223/
- Published: 2011-05-17T01:22:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:17:17.000Z
- Description: Dr. Mercola summarises a Raptitude piece on four words that can signal self-deception: wish, try, should and deserve. Each, the article argues, lets you dodge responsibility or shift the blame for your circumstances elsewhere.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Miscellaneous, Health News, #vivvo-import

Posted By [Dr. Mercola ](http://articles.mercola.com/members/Dr.-Mercola/default.aspx?ref=foodconsumer.org)| May 17 2011 

An article on Raptitude lists four words that might raise a red flag when you catch yourself saying them. While they are not "bad" words, they do lend themselves to a certain kind of self-deception.

**"Wish"**

> Do you use the word "wish" when you've decided you don't like something the way it is, but you're not actually doing anything about it? Wishing may give you a little relief from a reality you don't want to deal with, but it sure doesn't move things along.

**"Try"**

> When you insert the word "try" into a sentence, does that mean you're not actually willing to take on the responsibility of promising to do something? It's the ultimate catch-all qualifier for anyone looking to commit absolutely nothing to a particular effort.

**"Should"**

> Like wish, should can be used as a way of placing responsibility for your quality of life on other people, or on the universe at large. Most "shoulds" are really just desperate pleas for your moment to be less troublesome to you.

**"Deserve"**

> Even among reasonable people, deserve gets out of hand quickly. Deserve is really just a more specific type of should -- one which refers to what fates people ought to experience. Remember that most violence is rationalized with "deserve."

### Sources:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f5/c2/f5c28c07-f2c7-440d-8161-125a09d9bc91/content/images/2026/08/ad07fcc2c1b88ea962a7acfb617d9fce0d5472f0.gif)

[Raptitude April 25, 2011](http://www.raptitude.com/2011/04/four-words-that-make-me-suspicious-of-myself-when-i-say-them/?ref=foodconsumer.org)