The Power of Words

In the April 2021 Psychology Today there was an article on The Power of a Compliment. This great article backed up the claim that a compliment can boost someone's mood with science. I wanted to go broader and talk about the power of words in general. I have explained before the importance of how you talk to yourself and how being positive and kind in your inner dialogue can achieve great results in your every day life. What about the words we use towards others? Do you think it's possible that if you screamed obscenities at a flower it may not grow as well as a flower that you cheerfully said, "I love you" to every day? Well Dr. Masaru Emoto did an experiment with water. His research showed that positive words, music, prayers changed the water molecules. Water with the written word "polluted" formed an ugly looking donut; however, water with the written word "clean" formed a snowflake looking crystal. You can check out videos on YouTube including his Ted Talk.

Consider what you say to yourself, your coworkers, your friends, and your children today. Are you sending positive messages and labeling people as helpful, good, beautiful, and wonderful? Alternatively, are you using negative words and labels like trouble, bad, evil, or damaged? Your words and especially the repetition of those words make a difference in how you see yourself and others. Try the power of words in your garden or on your pets. Pet owners know the power of words because when our pets do something we do not like and we say things like, "no, bad boy," the pet is often ashamed. However, when we use kind words like, "you are such a good boy," we will get a tail wag or a kiss.

You deserve the same kindness when you speak to yourself. I know it is hard. I have issues when I drive calling other drivers less than positive things due to failed use of signals or turns from the wrong lanes. However, what could happen if we all took today and tried to talk in a more loving and positive way. In the South, we often hear the phrase, "Bless his heart." If that is the best you can do when confronted with an annoying co-worker, then try it and then move on with the rest of your day instead of venting about it in your head or at lunch. By dinnertime, you may not even remember the annoying interaction because the rest of your day went smooth.

Finally, a word on gratitude and positivity. Try to take a few minutes either in the morning or at night to list things you are grateful for in your life. These can be the simple "glad my hot water is on" to the more complicated "I'm glad for my amazing body and how it works." By finding gratitude, you can shift your self-take and appreciate things you have. I regularly am grateful for birds. I have feeders in my yard. The birds do leave some mess; however, I enjoy watching them and feel a sense of wonder at how they move and fly. See what you can be grateful for today.