Why the Words We Use to Define Ourselves Matter
Just who do you think you are?
I used to partake in much negative self-talk. After being bullied most of my teenage years, I didn’t have much in the way of positive things to say about myself. This carried over to the first years of my adulthood.
Ugly. Dumb. Clueless. Hopeless.
And the really heartbreaking thing is this — the more I used these words, the more I believed them, and the more I used them, in a never-ending vicious circle.
Not only that. I identified with those words — I started becoming and then being them.
So don’t underestimate the power of language — yes, actions speak louder than words, but behind actions, there are always words, whether they are spoken out loud or simply thought.
Fortunately, there are ways to bend language to accomplish what we want and nudge ourselves towards who we want to be. There is much to be earned by choosing words purposefully.
Language shapes our perception
Most people have an intuitive feeling of the power of words.
Not all, though, know about how deeply language actually can shape our reality. Even the adjectives we choose to describe a situation frame how we think and act…
