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Do you know the power of words? Words can be used to build us up or to tear us down. But when I am talking about the power of words, I am not only talking about verbal words. I am also talking about the words that make up our thoughts. I’ve written before about how you should choose your words wisely when talking about others, but what about when talking to ourselves?
It’s a fact that many of us won’t criticize another person to their face, yet we criticize ourselves many times throughout a given day. We say things like:
- I just don’t look good in the outfit
- I am so fat
- I am horrible with money
- I am unable to catch a break
All of these are words that we might not verbalize, but they are words nonetheless. Regardless if you are speaking these words or thinking these words, you need stop and understand the power of the words you are speaking.
The Power Of Words: A Bolt Of Electricity
When we think about electricity, we think of all of the great things that electricity provides for us. Heat in the wintertime, cool in the summertime. It allows us to see at night and keeps us connected to the ones we love as well as the world.
But electricity can be a bad thing too. Electricity can hurt us, even kill us if we are exposed to a high enough voltage. The same can be said of our words. For the most part, our words are used for good, to compliment others and to help us throughout our day. But if we don’t respect those words, much like electricity, they can harm us as well as we criticize ourselves ad nauseam.
Controlling The Power Of Words
If you find yourself talking down about yourself, limiting yourself through your words, then you need to spark a new thought pattern. You need to get into a positive mindset and use the power of words for good, not bad. Here are two ways for you to do such a thing.
That’s The Way I Want It
Going forward, whenever you speak, I want you to end with the phrase, “that’s the way I want it”. Doing this will allow you to quickly recognize when you are speaking words of negativity instead of positive words. Here is an example:
“I just don’t look in this outfit, and that’s the way I want it”.
Now ask yourself, is that your goal? To look bad in an outfit? Of course not! We always want to look our best. As you work on adding this phrase into your vocabulary, you are going to find that you catch yourself more and more quickly and eventually will no longer speak negative words. Here is what this phrase looks like when we attach it to a positive thought:
“These pants really show off my curves, and that’s the way I want it”.
Doesn’t that sound good and feel good? Of course it does, and this is the way you want it. Here is another example:
“I just can’t seem to catch a break, and that’s the way I want it”.
Do you really want to never catch a break in life? The answer is most likely no on this one as well. But when we add the phrase to a positive thought, everything changes:
“My big break is coming, and that’s the way I want it”.
Again, how great is this? You are admitting to yourself how lucky of a person you are.
I Am
The second way to use your words positively is to notice the use of “I am”. Whenever you speak about yourself, you are essentially saying “I am”. If we look at the list from above, we can easily see that “I am” starts many of the phrases:
- I am so fat
- I am horrible with money
- I am unable to catch a break
The “I am” that you speak to yourself can either bless or curse you. No one wants to curse our lives, yet we freely speak negative words to ourselves. Take notice to what type of “I am” you speak to yourself and ask yourself if you are encouraging yourself or discouraging yourself.
Final Thoughts
The power of words can be used for both good and bad. Take note to what type of words you are speaking to yourself. Do you lift yourself up, or do you bring yourself down? Is that the way you want it? The more you can realize what “I am” you are saying to yourself, the sooner you will learn to speak words of encouragement about yourself.
I don’t speak a lot about the Bible on this blog, but Proverbs 18:21 states “The tongue has the power of life and death…” The power of words can provide life, hope and joy, but they can just as easily bring death, hate and disappointment. So the question is, what words are you speaking to yourself?
Jon Dulin is the passionate leader of Unfinished Success, a personal development website that inspires people to take control of their own lives and reach their full potential. His commitment to helping others achieve greatness shines through in everything he does. He’s an unstoppable force with lots of wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm – all focused on helping others build a better future. Jon enjoys writing articles about productivity, goal setting, self-development, and mindset. He also uses quotes and affirmations to help motivate and inspire himself. You can learn more about him on his About page.
When I was younger, I would have shrugged this type of message off as cheesy. But, as I’ve aged and gained more wisdom (hopefully that is), I’ve realized negative self talk can really be detrimental. And, it is so easy to do without even realizing it. Most often, we are our own worst critics. While I think your self talk should have some element of realism to it (otherwise you won’t believe yourself), most all of us would be better off by using the power of our self talk in a more positive manner.
I agree. A younger me would have never written this post. But the older me sees the value in it. And you’re right about your thoughts needing to be believable. You need to believe what you are thinking and saying.