Words have power. Words have the power to change how you feel.
The words you use can change how you feel, both in positive and negative ways.
What you say to yourself, in the privacy of your own mind, will determine how you feel, and therefore how you react to circumstances.
It is important to realise that circumstances alone, do not determine how you feel.
Instead, it is the words you use to describe the circumstance, that will determine how you feel.
- If you choose fear words to describe your future, then you will become fearful.
- If you choose angry words to describe your past, then you will get angry.
- If you choose optimistic words to describe your future, then you will feel optimistic.
Therefore, the greatest thing to bear in mind is, that you should choose your words carefully.
Choose your words carefully and thoughtfully, they should not be the result of unconscious habits.
Unconscious habits.
We are all creatures of habit.
You have habits; some good; some bad. You have speech habits. You tend to use the same words to express yourself.
Some people have good speech habits, such as politeness. Other people have bad speech habits, such as swearing.
Some people get into the habit of speaking in fearful ways, or in angry ways, or in embittered ways, or in ways that imply they are a victim. The habitual use of such language will cause and intensify their corresponding emotions: Fear; anger; bitterness or victimisation.
The good news is, that you can take control of your words; and direct your words towards more positive content.
How to make your words more positive and therefore make you feel better.
To make your words more positive, ask yourself and answer, the following questions every day:
- What is my goal? What do I want to achieve, or change, in the next few days, (weeks, months, two years)?
- To achieve or change what I want, what additional knowledge do I need to gain?
- To achieve or change what I want, what resources do I need to gain access to? (Money, technology, tools)?
- Therefore, what is my best plan of action?
- What is the very first thing on my plan, that I must do now?
Make these five questions a mental speech habit. By asking and answering these questions daily, you will fill your mind with positive, progressive, pragmatic thoughts. Which will result in less time being spent on negative, angry, embittered and victimised thoughts.
Get out of the habit of repeating words of worry, anger, bitterness or victimisation.
Replace it with the habit of repeating questions relating to:
- Goals. (What you want to achieve, or to change).
- Knowledge.
- Resources.
- Plans.
- Actions.
Crowd-out the bad thoughts and replace them with the good ones. By doing so, you will automatically feel great and perform even better.
Positive self-talk
Positive self-talk is a habit in personal effectiveness. It happens when you speak hopeful and kind words to yourself. You do it on purpose, many times each day, to lift your mood and steer your actions. If the words are not to yourself, not hopeful, not done on purpose or not repeated, it is not positive self-talk.
CG4D Definition
Context: Personal effectiveness
Genus: Habit
- Spoken or thought by the person to themselves
- Uses hopeful and kind words that lift mood
- Done on purpose to guide feelings and actions
- Practised often so it becomes a steady habit
Article Summary
The words you choose build your mood and guide your acts, so speak to yourself with hope, ask each day what goal you want, what you need to know, which tools you need, what plan works best and what first step to take; this simple habit pushes out fear words, lifts your mind and helps you feel great every day.