In-negative / Confusion url
Trying to understand current events
- Can you help me figure out what’s going on?
- I don’t know who to believe anymore.
- Frankly, none of this make sense.
- I’m totally baffled.
- I don’t have a clue about what is going on.
- I’m totally dumbfounded.
- It puzzles me.
- I don’t know what to make of it.
- What do you make of it?
- What does it all mean?
- How has it come to this?
Trying to understand current events
In-positive / Hope url
Graduating from college
- Now I’ve got a whole new outlook on life.
- It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.
- It’s my big break.
- It’s opening up a whole new world.
- I’ll be much better off.
- It’s a great way of life.
- The sky’s the limit.
- I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and today’s the day.
- We put a lot of work into it, and now it looks like the effort will bear fruit.
- I feel like I have a new lease on life.
- It’s something I have to live for.
- I have a new lease on life.
- I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
- Things are looking up.
Graduating from college
In-negative / Desperation url
Losing a job
- I can’t tell you how awful it is.
- I’m going to lose my mind.
- After what I’ve been through, I don’t know which way is up.
- It’s a lost cause.
- It’s a no win situation.
- It’s all downhill from here.
- It’s a sad state of affairs.
- It feels like things are spinning out of control.
- This is driving me up a wall.
- I’m at loose ends.
- It all seems like a bad dream.
- I feel like I’m on the ropes.
- I think I’m going to throw in the towel.
- After I try my best, and I find a lot of good that does.
- Where can I turn to?
- It hit me like a ton of bricks.
Losing a job
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Remembering the night the car broke down
- I would just as soon forget the whole thing.
- That’s ancient history.
- That’s the way the story goes.
- It’s water under the bridge.
- That’s water over the dam.
- You learn from experience.
- The best that I can say is that it could have ended up much worse.
- I’m thinking about it a lot.
- How soon we forget.
- How time flies
Remembering the night the car broke down
Out-positive / Encouragement url
For a friend who was just promoted to be head of sales
- I always knew you had it in you.
- You’ll go right to the top.
- If you play your cards right, nothing will stand in your way, and you will be very successful.
- This is a big moment for you.
- That’s a lucky break for you.
- Here’s your big chance.
- They must think a lot of you.
- You’re going to do a bang-up job.
- More power to you.
- Hit the ground running.
- Give it your all.
For a friend who was just promoted to be head of sales
Out-positive / Friendship url
Saying hello-1
- So what else is new?
- So we meet again.
- I’m so glad to see you.
- What’s up Doc?
- Well, isn’t it a small world?
- How goes it?
- Top of the morning to you.
- What a nice surprise!
- How’s everything going?
- What’s up?
- What’s new?
- What a pleasant surprise.
Saying hello-1
In-positive / Confidence url
Given a new assignment at work
- I should have no trouble accomplishing the task.
- This will be one more feather in my cap.
- I know everything there is to know about it.
- It’s a piece of cake.
- Consider it done.
- I’ve done it once, and I can do it again.
- That’ll be no problem whatsoever.
- I can knock that off in no time flat.
- I can get through this in no time at all.
- I know where it’s at.
- Now we're getting into a whole new territory.
- That’s very do-able.
- That will be carried out to the letter.
- That’s as easy as pie.
- I’m going to get it done in two seconds flat.
- My head is still above water.
Given a new assignment at work
Out-positive / Encouragement url
For a friend who invested in a stock that did well and then crashed
- It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
- You can cope with it.
- You can turn it into a growth and learning experience.
- You can rest assured that if I were in your shoes, I would have done exactly what you did.
- It certainly started off with the bang.
- Don’t worry, hang on tight, it’s going to be all right.
- You’re acting as cool as a cucumber.
- I guess whatever goes up, must come down.
For a friend who invested in a stock that did well and then crashed
In-negative / Desperation url
Can’t pay the mortgage
- Things have gotten totally out of hand.
- I’m having trouble making ends meet.
- What am I going to do?
- Sometimes I feel that it's all going to be downhill from here.
- I hope I haven’t blown it.
- Nowadays, it’s hard to make ends meet.
- I’m hanging by a thread.
- If this goes on I’m going to lose my mind.
- I was up all night worrying about it.
- I feel down and out.
- Sometimes I tell myself, ‘Don’t even bother’.
- When I hope that things will get better, I realize: don’t hold your breath.
- I feel like I’m beating a dead horse.
Can’t pay the mortgage
Out-negative / Push away url
Stay away from me
- You give me the creeps.
- Keep your claws off me.
- You make my skin crawl.
- That’s none of your business.
- That’s not for you to judge.
- Keep your hands to yourself.
- Don’t rain on my parade.
- Don’t come barging in here.
- I’ve had enough of this, I want out.
- Good riddance!
- Oh, get lost.
- Don’t overstay your welcome.
Stay away from me
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
Let’s make a deal
- Let’s get down to business.
- Let’s mend our fences.
- Let get down to brass tacks.
- We can see eye to eye.
- Make me an offer I can’t refuse.
- Let’s split the difference.
- I’ll take you up on it.
- Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
- Let’s put our heads together and do our best to get to come up with something.
- I’ll make it worth your while!
- On second thought, maybe I will reconsider your generous offer.
- Let’s go through with the deal.
Let’s make a deal
Out-neutral / Advice url
Caution-3
- We’ve got to lay low for a while until the whole things blows over.
- Play your cards close to your vest.
- It’ll come back to haunt you.
- My advice is to keep your eye on it.
- You might regret it for the rest of your life.
- You’re fighting a loosing battle.
- Take everything they say with a grain of salt.
- Your life may depend on it.
- I have a feeling that you might be starting off on the wrong foot.
- Handle it with kid gloves.
- The bigger they are the harder they fall.
- You really have to watch out for things like that.
- Steer clear of it.
- You’re skating on thin ice.
- Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.
- The odds are against you.
- There are no guarantees.
- It will get you when you least expect it.
- He’s not playing with a full deck.
- That defeats the whole purpose.
- It's unpredictable, and it’s a close call, going down to the wire, and we might not have a clear indication of where it's heading until the last minute - and then it might be too late to change course to salvage the situation.
Caution-3