The Words We Choose Matter
Let’s Choose Positive Words
Do You Have Positive Words in Your Vocabulary?
We all know the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” or something along those lines, but the truth is, words do hurt. We have to be VERY selective with our words. The words we use are more of a reflection of our character than what they are of the person who we are talking to or about.
Words are powerful, and what we say can and usually does come true. If we speak negatively, we will attract negative things, but if we speak positively, we will attract positive things. So, why not use more positive words? Not just to attract positive things but to be favorable to ourselves and others.
How Do You Speak to Your Children?
Think about children and how we speak to them. If we tell a child they are stupid, they will believe it, but if we tell them they are smart, they will believe it. We should be speaking life into our children, into ourselves, and onto others as well.
Sometimes, we speak out of anger and say things we don’t mean. However, it will be beneficial in the long run to pause, take a few deep breaths, count to 10, and just think about what we are about to say before we say something we’ll regret later.
We don’t want to say things because of our emotions at the time; we want to say things we actually believe, which again explains why we should be selective with our words.
What Does the Bible Say About Positive Words?
The Bible mentions the power of words and the need to watch how we talk in Proverbs 18:21 (NIV): “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Death and life are in the power of the tongue…..WOW! That is powerful. You have the power to give life to someone or death solely with your words. Think about that for a moment.
Everyone is going through different challenges, and we don’t know if the words we speak to them will help them or make them feel worse. If it’s encouraging words, then yes, this will help them, but if we start talking negatively to them, then this will make them believe that the negative thoughts they have are right.
Another Bible verse about the words we use is Ephesians 4:29 (NIV): “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
In other words, LET’s BUILD EACH OTHER UP! Be positive! Encourage each other! Empower each other and help each other. Simple words like, “You got this!” “You can do this!” “You are capable!” “I believe in you!” Those are simple words that can mean the world to someone and could be the little push they need to get over whatever issue they may be going through.
Verbal Abuse Is Real
Did you know that verbal abuse is real? Psychology Today talks about recognizing verbal abuse and how to stop it; it starts with us, with ourselves. In the article, they reference the book Teen Torment: Overcoming Verbal Abuse at Home and School, and the author, Patricia Evans, says, “Words can be as damaging to the mind as physical blows are to the body, the scars from verbal assaults can last for years,” Let’s not scar others for life with our words.
I grew up always hearing things, “you don’t do anything right,” or “is there anything you can do?” or “you never use your head to think.” And hearing these comments repeatedly for years broke down my self-esteem. I felt worthless at one point and truly felt like I couldn’t do anything right. It made me feel like a disappointment, but I promised myself to break that cycle. It took years to be able to work on my self-esteem and feel confident in myself. Nevertheless, I was able to overcome it and still feel like it’s a continuous process.
Positive Words Only
I want to challenge you. If you usually think or speak negatively, I challenge you to try to catch yourself when you’re thinking or saying something negative for a week and see if you can change that into something positive. Write down your thoughts and how you turned them into something positive, and look back at your notes after a week. Then, answer yourself this: How did you feel? Did you see a pattern? Where do you think these negative thoughts are coming from?
Let me know how it goes for you, either in the comments or private message. Let’s work together in changing our word selections and being more positive
With Love, Heidy
This post was originally posted at - https://heidydelacruz.com/the-words-we-choose-matter-lets-choose-positive-words/
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