Recognize the Power of Words

Fall In Love With Your Future 10.0

Thoughts have tremendous power, and thoughts are triggered by words.  Author and speaker, Les Brown, tells the story of a teacher who asked him to write something on the board.  Brown, an 11^th grader at the time, refused and said, “I can’t, Sir;  I’m educable mentally retarded.”

The teacher’s response changed Brown’s life when he challenged him to be careful about the power that words and labels could have on him. His instructor said, “If you can get a glimpse of yourself, of who you really are, and what it is you bring to the planet in a historical sense, the world will never be the same.”

Letting words be our tools, never our stumbling blocks, is a message we all could use. Medical science offers evidence that peaceful affirming words can lower blood pressure, reduce stress levels, and —in some cases—promote inexplicable physical healing.

Author and consultant, Steven Covey, gives some helpful advice on using words to reduce stress and promote honest exchanges.  He says:

• prepare your heart and mind before you prepare your words,
• assume the best in others and let your words reflect that,
• refrain from saying the unkind or negative thing, especially when tired or frustrated.

Far too often, a casually spoken word has distracted, wounded, or prompted an ill chosen path.  Every interaction we have with others can either build them up or push them down.  Since none of us know how many days or years we have on this earth, let’s use our remaining time to be builder-uppers.

“The people who are lifting the world onward and upward are those who encourage more than they criticize.”  Elizabeth Harrison