Have you ever said something to a friend that to you was a joke, however your friend became deeply offended by your words?
Here is another example. You are having the best day ever, and someone says something to you that just ruins your entire day. All they uttered was 1 or 2 sentences and boom! your entire day was ruined.
The opposite of the above scenario: You are having a terrible day and someone utters just one sentence that turns your entire day around. Those words put a smile on your face, like wind beneath your wings. Positive words can be very powerful.
I shared the above examples to show just powerful words can be.
Words can make or break. With words we can build a person up on tear a person down.
Our words carry tremendous power, a lot more than we realize.
- Why are words so powerful?
- Why do negative and positive words impact us the way they do?
- Do I really have to watch every single thing I say?
I answer these questions and MUCH MORE in this post.
The power of Positive Words in summary:
- Our words affect our present and future.
- Every living thing (including you and I) are affected by words.
- Our subconscious moves in the direction of our thoughts and speech.
In a nutshell you can say “our words create our world”.
I read a story a while back about a certain group of people that live in a very remote village in South America.
This is their usual practice: whenever the men of the village wanted to chop down an usually large tree, they would curse the tree by saying a whole bunch of negative and unproductive words to the tree.
They would then leave it and go about their businesses for several days.
Upon their return, their words (curses) would have taken effect, making it very easy for them to cut down the tree with very little effort.
I also read about an experiment on the effect of words conducted by a young boy and his mother.
They planted 2 of the same plant on the same day in 2 different pots. To one plant they spoke nurturing positive words daily for 2 weeks.
To the other plant they spoke negative unproductive words daily for 2 weeks.
The result: The plant they spoke positive nourishing words to grew and really flourished in the 2 weeks.
The other plant that had negative words spoken over it did not grow as well. In fact it was very unhealthy, all shriveled up and it eventually died.
The lessons from these stories: Every living thing is directly affected by positive and negative words.
I read in the book of Hebrews about how
“God sustains the universe by the power of his word.” Heb 1:3
We are told in the book of Genesis that we are created in the exact likeness and image of God.
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen 1:27
If you believe this to be true, you are also able to create/sustain your universe /sphere of influence with your words.
The first 2 chapters of the book for Genesis detail the creation story. God called into existence that which did not exist before.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. Gen 1:2
….. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 Gen 1:2
We see this pattern through out the bible. God calling into existence those things which did not exist before.
In Gen 17:5, God talking to Abram said:
“Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.” Gen 17:5
Keep in mind that at this point in Abram’s life, he and his wife Sarai were well beyond child bearing years. Sarah had never been able to bear a child for her husband.
God did fulfill his promise to Abraham and Sarah by the way. You can read all about that here
We all know or have heard of a person who was verbally abused in childhood. When they became an adult, they struggled with a myriad of issues resulting from the verbal abuse received in childhood
Our words are so powerful and as a result we should to choose to use them wisely.
Could it be that you are not getting the results you want in life due to the string of negative words you you utter daily? just a thought?
Quick test – Take an inventory of words you say for the next few hours. Record yourself or make notes.
Analyze the results. Are you prone to speaking negative words or positive words? Make changes where necessary.
I discuss how to further down.
I am by no means suggesting we start to live in a world of pretense where issues that ought to be addressed or discussed are not touched upon for fear of speaking negative words.
No! that will be foolish.
I’m speaking more of situations where say for example you have been job searching for a few weeks and have not gotten any breakthroughs yet.
What I’m proposing is instead of waking up and complaining and talking about how bad the situation is and meditating on all of the negative things that could happen if you do not get a job by a certain time or date,
Instead choose to put your words to good use.
Declare the good things you want to see happen in your current temporary situation instead.
Make a list of affirmations related to your job search. If you are a bible believing Christian, back up your affirmations with scriptures that talk about how God meets our needs.
Dwell on that instead of fear based thoughts.
This will do 2 things for you:
- Lift your spirit and energize you as you continue to job search
- It will help to shift your perspective.
Hey! You may even come up with new avenues or ideas to explore as you continue on with your job search.
The exact opposite will happen if you all you can see or do is talk about all of the things not currently working for you and if you keep focusing on the worst of your situation.
- It will drain you physically and emotionally.
- There will be no motivation or energy to job search properly because you already feel defeated.
- It clouds your ability to see what could be. You end up seeing only the very worst of your current situation.
I read about how Jim Carrey used to carry a post-dated check with the sum of $10,000,000 written on it in the early 90s.
The check memo read “Fees for Acting Services Rendered” See the clip below:
This was way before he became famous. He also gave himself a deadline to achieve that goal.
He did achieve his goal just before the set time.
I also want to note here that he backed his goal with actions. He did the work required to turn his vision of earning $10,000000 into a reality.
As I read that story, I could picture then struggling actor Jim Carrey being rejected at audition after audition and choosing not to give up.
Instead he dared to set an audacious goal and reminded himself regularly that he could meet his goal.
Bottom line is our words affect our today and our future. Look at it this way: with every word we speak, we are either sowing life into the situation OR sowing death into that situation.
In life, we always reap what we sow.
Which would you choose? I would encourage you to choose to sow life into situations you are currently facing with your words.
If words are so powerful, just think about what you can do if you take just for a few minutes of your day, to speak powerful positive words over your today and future? (affirmations any one?)
Call into existence those things that have never existed before. Rom.4:17
Declare a thing and it shall be established for you. Job 22:28
The 2 professionals in the photo spoke about what they wanted in their future. They worked very hard too.
Guess what? they both achieved their Super Bowl Dreams.
In another study on the effect of words on the molecular structure of water by Japanese Researcher Masaru Emoto,
He discovered that water exposed to positive speech and thoughts would result in visually “pleasing” crystals being formed when that water was frozen and that negative intention and speech would yield “ugly” frozen crystal formations.
I was intrigued by this study. Think about this for a minute. The human body is made up of 70% water.
Just imagine the negative impact unproductive words and intentions have on us based on the results from the study mentioned above. Just think about that for a minute.
All living things are impacted by words. If words impact water and plants, how much more humans?
Ok, so I know you are probably thinking, yes we hear you but how do we develop a habit of speaking positive words? well, I’m glad you asked.
How to get into the habit of speaking Positive Words?
- Be mindful of what you expose your senses to. In other words, be mindful of what you watch and what you listen to.
What we watch and listen to impacts our thought process – which in turns impact our speech.
If all you do all day is watch and listen to trash, garbage, news about everything wrong or not working in the world today, when you speak, that’s exactly what you will regurgitate.
Watch the news yes, but don’t dwell on it all day long.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Pro 4:23
2. Be mindful of those you spend time with.
If you spend all of your time hanging around complainers, nay-sayers, people who talk trash all the time, gossips, it’s inevitable you will start to talk like them in no time.
If your friendship circle is full of people like this, it is time to find new friends.
3. Always look for the good in whatever situation you are facing. It will lead to a shift in your perspective and you will be surprised at the many opportunities that can open up to you just from viewing a situation in a new light.
What we give attention to, we also give authority to. What we give attention to affects our speech. Be mindful of your thoughts. Shift your focus off negative thoughts that don’t serve you in any way.
Phil. 4:8 summarizes this point very well.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8
“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” Luke 6:45
4. Speak kindly to your self. Why is this important? because YOU are listening.
You know those times when you miss the mark and you say things like “ gosh I’m so dumb”, I’m just so very very stupid”. That way of talking to yourself is just outright wrong. If you keep that up long enough, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Be nice to YOU. Rephrase with kinder words – “ that’s an area I need to improve on”.
Of course you are bound to make mistakes. We all do. Well hello! you are human after all.
Newsflash! We humans are fallible beings. We are bound to make mistakes.
Making mistakes doesn’t justify calling yourself names.
If you keep that up for long enough, it will become embedded in your subconscious and you will just start to believe that you are “dumb” and “stupid”. Worse still, you will sub-consciously start to act that way.
I remind my self almost every day that:
- I am beautiful and I am God’s masterpiece Eph 2:10
- I am the apple of God’s eye.
- I am the child of the most high God
- I am bold, confident and very successful.
- I am an amazing wife
- I am an amazing mother to my children.
- I am filled with Godly wisdom
- I am highly favored and deeply loved.
- I am very secure in who I am and in whose I am.
I’ve said those positive words and many more to myself so many times over the years that they are now etched into my subconscious.
I’m fully aware that positive words are powerful so I leverage on that.
Now I show up with confidence. I carry my self with confidence. I don’t feel small even when I show up in what might be considered intimidating arenas why? Because I know I add value to lives I touch and places I go.
The opposite was the case just a few years ago. I was insecure, not confident and you could smell and see it from 10 miles away.
I got to work and did exactly what I’m telling you. The results were phenomenal!
On most days I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Not because everything in my life is perfect. No! far from that. But because I have trained my my mind over time to focus on the positive in every situation.
I choose to see beauty all around me. I choose to live in gratitude daily.
Get into the habit of speaking positive words to yourself. It pays great dividends.
In conclusion, let EXCELLENCE and LOVE be the driving forces behind your speech. What does that look like?
- Let your words add value
- Let your words give wisdom
- Listen more and talk less
- Let your words be free of perverseness.
- Let your words be kind.
- Let your words build up
- Let your words give hope
From a biblical perspective:
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:29
The words of a wise (excellent) man’s mouth are gracious. Ecc. 10:12
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place. Ephesians 5:4
Create the kind of world you want with your words. Call those things you want to see or are believing for into existence.
Words – Positive and Negative carry tremendous power. Use your words well.
You can learn more about my coaching services here or direct inquiries regarding One-on-One coaching here