Spoken words that we use are powerful tools! Our spoken word is used to inspire, motivate, instruct, and even destruct. The right words at the right time can make all the difference in your life.
This past weekend, I was at a marketing mastermind in Nashville. While at the event, obviously, I learned a lot about marketing. As always, the training was spectacular. But I must say, lunches and dinners were when I learned the most.
As we were talking around the dinner table, one topic came up. Calf! We talked about beautiful calf! You might think that has nothing to do with marketing. But it put me back in my memory:
Unlike most guys, I wasn’t able to bench much when I was in high school and still cannot bench press for more than 85 lbs. Heck, girls in my class easily benched 100lbs!. I told myself that I was not able to balance the bar. So anything above 85 lbs, I would struggle.
One day at practice, my coach had me bench press 135 lbs. He said that he wanted to see if I could do it, which might have been the time. My friends around me cheered me on.
They told me I could do it. They told me it was going to be easy…the weight dropped but didn’t move an inch off of chest level. My spotter and two friends had to help me get the weight off because I couldn’t do it on my own!
I said, “See, I told you, I am no good at the bench press.” Just like that, I proved to my coach, my class, the world that yes, I can’t do something.
This is a prime example of using words to motivate yourself and others around you or to demotivate yourself. Because of what I said to myself, I didn’t practice. Because I didn’t practice, I made a fool of myself.
If you want to empower yourself or someone else, use words that are powerful. Use positive affirmations and limit the number of negative words used when describing oneself or one’s situation. When we say something over and over, it becomes a reality for us. So be careful what you say about yourself!
My Spoken Words To Myself
A few months later, Coach told me he wanted me to try a personal best for leg press today…but I was not scared or intimidated at all. I was sitting in the gym on a leg press machine, adding more weight. I had never pressed this much before – 500 lbs! I did it!
I kept on adding more weight until I couldn’t fit anymore 45 lbs plates to the machine. Now, all my friends gathered around the machine. Some huge football guys volunteered to spot me. And I remember my friends started to give me the same encouragement words like they did when I was doing my bench press.
“You got this bro!”
Sure enough, with everyone yelling and telling me I could crush it, I pressed on – over 850 lbs! Now that was awesome!
Some words are powerful and others can be destructive. When we make the choice to use positive affirmations or negative self-talk, it’s important that we take responsibility for what is said! So change your spoken word today with this simple practice:
Nurturing Words vs Destructive Language
Positive Affirmations versus Negative Self-Talk
“I’m strong.” Versus “I’m weak.”
“Yes!” Versus “No way!”
A Few Powerful Examples of Nurturing Words: I am capable; I have strength; I know my value as a person. A few examples of Destructive Language: You will never succeed at anything; you’re not worth much more than anyone else in this world.
Words that we use to talk about ourselves have the power to make or break us. We want to limit the amount of negative or weak words that we use to describe ourselves or our situation. The right words at the right time can make all the difference in your life and can help you achieve goals like never before!
So be careful what you say, think, and do when it comes to self-talk, spoken words, because if you’re not conscious about what’s going on inside your head then who knows where it could lead? Your brain is a powerful tool but requires input from its owner for optimum performance. It might take some work but being mindful of how you speak will pay off tenfold in terms of personal growth and achievement. What are some empowering words that you would like to start using in your self-talk?
