I decided to write about words this morning because of what I see and hear around me. Of all the lessons I have learned in my lifetime, recognizing the power of words is the lesson that improved my relationships and enabled me to work through problems with those I care about, rather than shutting them out of my life as I used too when I was younger.
Words are powerful things; so powerful we have to be careful how we string them together in our sentences, our speech, our letters, and emails. Words can make a man or break a man; inspire him or destroy him. They will motivate him, or steal his joy, hope, and peace. They will fill him with despair or cause him to believe that nothing is impossible. Words will encourage a man or discourage him, leaving him feeling empty, asking himself "why bother to try anymore?"
The words we put into our minds are powerful too for we believe what we tell ourselves. If we tell ourselves "I can't." we've pretty much killed our motivation. If we tell ourselves how afraid we are, we become fearful, insecure people. What we tell ourselves determines, to a large degree, what choices we will make, or not make.
I have made it a point, for the last year, to pay attention to what I'm been telling myself. To say I was surprised at what this experiment taught me, would be an understatement.
Listed below is an example of just some of the things I'd been telling myself. The original list was longer, so I am making progress. Paying attention to what I say has improved my life by 80 %, and I know it will continue to get better. I'm posting this because I thought perhaps some of you might be telling yourselves these things too.
List of Things I've Told Myself when, sad, lonely, afraid, overwhelmed,or
feeling discouraged.
1- I can't do this.
2- This is too hard.
3- I'll never be able to understand this.
4- Nothing ever changes.
5- I can't do anything right.
6- Nobody cares any way.
7 -I'm too old.
8- I'm not smart enough.
9- What's the sense of trying.
10- I'll never get back in shape.
DISTORTIONS OF LOGIC.
That's what the above statements are. The more I said them to myself, the more I believed it. It's taken me a long time to realize the harm I was doing to myself, a long time to recognize that what I told myself altered my life, and not always in a good way.
So, how about you? What negative tapes do you still run in your mind, if any?
Well, I guess I'd better get started on my day. There is a lot to do and when I am this tired it always takes me longer to get things done. As for you, guys & dolls.
Enjoy the moments of your life as they come and if possible create a beautiful memory for somebody who doesn't expect it. You won't have to look far to find that person. There are a lot of lonely people out there. Some might just be your neighbors.
Love you much,
No comments:
Post a Comment