We are awash with words.  Everyday, we are bombarded with "communication" in advertising, memos, email, books, tapes, radio, TV and magazines.  We are at risk of forgetting the power of words.  Albert Einstein once quipped that he did not know who discovered water, but he was sure it was not a fish.  His point was that when anything becomes too familiar, we take it for granted, and then we forget to notice and respect it.
We have the saying, "Talk is cheap".  It means that words are easy, plentiful, and unreliable.  As a kid, I remember the defiant chant on the playground that, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  But in many ways, our belief that words are cheap and shallow, does hurt us every day.

It has not always been this way.  Many ancient peoples, notably the ancient Hebrews, believed that words were living things!  They observed that "mere words" could bring joy or sadness.  Words start wars, and create peace.  The give us hope, and they destroy marriages. 

Words create the world in which we live.  Many people have noted that until we have language to describe something, it doesn't really exist for us. There is a famous story that when Captain Cook first sailed his ship into the harbor of some small South Pacific islands, the local people literally could not see the ship - they had no concept or way to comprehend such a thing!  Since such a ship was "impossible", their brains blocked it from their awareness.

This happens for us in our own lives, as well.  For many of us, our ignorance of computers and what they can do for us caused us to ignore them, or to postpone buying one, for many years.  Similarly, I occasionally hear people dismiss the Internet as a passing fad. They are always people who do not understand or use it.

But, we also know that words mold our lives in positive ways. Education and psychology, and coaching, are based on the power of words to impact performance.

Tom Peters and Robert Waterman tell about research with two groups who were given a series of puzzles to solve.  After a few minutes, regardless of their actual performance, one group was told they had done very well, and the other group was told they had done badly. Both groups were then given a second set of puzzles, and guess what! The performance of both groups changed.  Those who were told they had done well had more confidence, more creativity, and their performance went up.  Those who were told they had done badly did worse.

Most of you are familiar with the power of daily affirmations.  Most of you own motivational books, and understand the power of written goals.  You know the power of encouragement, and the pain of criticism or a word spoken in anger.

My question:  Are you using the positive power of words to create the life you really want?  If not, why not?

If we surround ourselves with toxic words, with popular TV, and the language of scarcity, doubt, conflict and tensionour lives begin to reflect the power of those words.  Life becomes difficult.

If, on the other hand, we fill our days with humor and hope, with informative and useful reading, with the language of achievement and words of love, optimism and creativity, our lives will surely reflect it.

Words may not be "living things" in the usual sense.  But they do have power and we are responsible for the words that fill our lives. More than ever before, you can choose the books you read, the TV you watch and the words you use to describe your life.  Is your life "full and rich", or difficult and stressful?  To a remarkable degree, the way you describe your life, will determine the way it is for you.

This week, take ACTION!  Speak up, and speak well.  Use affirmations!  Every morning, write them down!  Say them out loud during the day!  Use them as you speak with friends, colleagues and loved ones.  Find the good, and celebrate it out loud.  Read.
Listen to tapes, and watch TV that is helpful, supportive and inspiring.  Use words to create the life you want!  Words have power, and they give you the power to create anything, and have anything, and become anything you wish.   Use them well!

Quotes of the Week
"It only takes one person to change your life - you."    -  Ruth Casey

"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes."    -  Charles Swindoll

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."  -  Elinor Smith

"Live with intention.  Walk to the edge.  Listen hard.  Practice wellness. Play with abandon.  Laugh.  Choose with no regret. Continue to learn.   Appreciate your friends.  Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is."  -  Mary Anne Roadacher-Hershey

Copyright (c) 1999, all rights reserved.  Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute TIP's so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached.  The author of this article is: Dr Philip E. Humbert.  Contact him by
email at:  Coach@philiphumbert.com, or by phone at (541) 342-1030.