Words Affect the Path we Take

I believe so strongly in the power of words to create or destroy.

They have such a profound effect on the way we live our lives. For most, they create an impact subconsciously. We aren't always aware of how other peoples choice of words impacts us, yet, we make changes in our lives according to what we are told. 

Both negatively and positively. 

My last article touched upon how words can be used to influence others. I want to provide a different story for you that highlights the sheer impact words can have. 

Word Power

At the mere mention of “word power,” faces of prominent world leaders pop into mind: John Kennedy, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan — all leaders whose words rocked the world and helped change the course of history for generations to come.

But what about words spoken by everyday leaders? Leaders in organizations of all kinds and sizes–business leaders, church leaders, school leaders, community leaders, and family leaders? 

You don’t need to be a world leader for your words to influence beyond anything you could think or imagine. Your words are containers with explosive power to imprint a life and change the course of one’s destiny, for better or for worse.

Many people in leadership positions have the power to influence those around them. Sometimes, they are even blissfully unaware at just how important their vocabulary choices are on their team. 

I remember years ago sitting in a program presented by Ron Willingham, author of the excellent book, Selling for the 21st Century. Ron shared with his audience a painful time from his childhood when making model wooden airplanes was all the rage. 

Ron, excited to try his hand at making one of his own, painstakingly created a model airplane by gluing together dozens of pieces ever-so-carefully, piece by piece by piece, and then took it to show his parents. 

As he held out his “work of art” for his father to appreciate, his dad looked at the airplane and then looked at Ron’s mother and said, “Do you think he’ll ever learn to do anything right?”

Cut to the quick by his father’s words, Ron took his model wooden airplane to the burn barrel at the back of their home, tore it apart piece by piece, dropped it into the inferno, and watched it go up in flames. Ron never again attempted to make a model wooden airplane.

Words are reflective of the track we run on. One track leads to pleasure, another to pain. One leads to life and the other to death. 

These tracks ultimately lead us to the end goal that we are seeking. Input from various sources can cause us to hit a bump and push us on to another track. Each of which can have positive or negative outcomes. 

What track are you running on? Do your words honor and promote others or do they disrespect and harm? Do your words elevate and transform lives or do they bring down and destroy? Do your words create harmony and build unity or do they separate and divide?

Why Focus is Important

Being respectful and disrespectful is something that many of us ensure we are conscious of. Similarly can be said about delivering something with intention; be it positive or negative. 

However, sometimes, these simple things can slip our mind in the heat of the moment. What is a joke for us can quickly become an attack from the perspective of the receiver

It takes great skill to be continuously aware of what outcomes your actions may cause. Whilst we focus on ourselves first (and rightly so) we can't be so quick to forget that what we feel can be what someone else feels as well. 

If you are in a dark place or have been impacted negatively by the words of someone else, would you wish the same feeling on someone else? I hope the answer to that was no. 

The first step to ensuring that you aren't negatively impacting someone else is to be aware of your tonality and vocabulary choices at all time. 

With that being said, here is my personal challenge for you: 

For the next week take note of the words you speak. Take a piece of paper and draw a T with the vertical line down the center of the page, creating two columns. 

Label the heading over the right column BUILDING UP and then label the heading over the left column TEARING DOWN. Then each time your words add something positive to the life of another, make note of it. 

Each time your words make a negative impact on another, make note of it. At the end of the week, total each column. This will give you some idea as to how positive an influence you are in the lives of others.

It's important to be critically honest with yourself when taking this challenge. We have the ability to undermine our own actions. Potentially with phrases like 'it was only a joke, they knew that' or ' I was only messing around'.

For others, this may not be the case. Make sure to be unbiased in your tallying. 

Why take the challenge?

This is something that I have done myself in the past and have found it to be a real eye-opener. Going with the flow of the conversation is easy. Most people will shrug off negative comments when faced directly with the person who said them. 

It is easier for us to pretend to be okay in public but release those emotions when secluded. Being secluded, on your own and facing these emotions isn't the best solution. 

Whilst that is looking at the situation negative, taking the challenge will allow you to see how you handle various situations. Are you quick to jump the gun on a negative response? Or are you the first to try and raise people up and beyond?

I'm interested in hearing what your experience was like and what you learnt from the challenge. How are you going to shape the way you handle conversations with others? Drop me a message and let me know.