In recent years, I’ve learned the major importance and impact words can have on my life and those around me. What you choose to say affects not just your life, but who you’re speaking to and yes, even those listening who may not be directly involved in the conversation.
And from personal experience, the extremely negative words my aunt said to me when I was ten years old at the time my parents separated are forever etched into my soul. Yes, 23 years later and I still remember the exact words she said to me.
Do I still believe the words she said to me? No. But I will say that it’s hard to forget.
On that same note, I’ve seen the lasting effects of words parents have said to their kids. And I mean three-decades-later kind of lasting effects. And after guiding one of my friends through his personal journey for the past several years, I cannot tell you just how detrimental the negative words you say can affect other people’s lives long after you’ve said them.
I mean it when I say that you can really mess up someone’s life with what you say.
Well? What about you though?
If your life sucks, chances are, you’re either saying these negative words/phrases or have heard someone speak them into your life.
Am I right? If so, don’t worry.
You can turn your life around and change your way of thinking. And you can begin by starting with words you intentionally choose to say. Yep, you can take more control of the good that flows into your life by purposefully choosing the right words.
In recent years, I’ve taken negative self-talk and damaging words and either changed or cut them out of my vocabulary.
And the results have been incredible!
I’m happier, life is more grand and great and positive things are happening. So today, I wanted to share with you negative words and damaging phrases that I’ve either cut out completely or replaced.
CAN’T
#LeDuh. This is the top super obvious negative word of all disempowering words. When you say ‘can’t’ you are literally limiting yourself by saying there is only one option: it ain’t happening.
Instead of saying ‘can’t’, replace it with ‘yet’ as a positive word. For example, you’re working out and accidentally blurt out, “I can’t do it!” during a set. Catch yourself in the act and change it to, “I’m going to get there! The best version of me is YET to come!”
TRY
To me, the word ‘try’ is closely tied to minimal effort. If you’re going to do something, instead of saying ‘try’, replace it with “I’m going to…” This phrase is an action that you’re speaking into life. And if you really want to do something, use “I’m going to…” as you’re making things happen. Because even on those hard days where you’re struggling, you’re going to need these uplifting words!
(I’M) OKAY.
Your body hears everything you say and will act according to the words that leave your mouth. When someone asks you how you’re doing, don’t say, “I’m okay.” when you’re literally feeling better than that! In recent years, I’ve replied to people with, “I’m FANTASTIC!” and it actually makes people stop for a second.
I’m pretty sure it’s because people are used to hearing, “I’m okay.” from others that they’re shocked when you’re feeling happy and positive.
If you’re feeling fantastic, great, awesome, say what you’re actually feeling to bring your energy levels up!
IF
I used to say “If I ever get married…” until I realized that I really want to marry the love of my life (when I find him). So I started replacing ‘if’ with, ‘when’ so now, it’s “When I get married…” See how different and much more positive that sounds? You’re speaking things you want to happen into existence!
NEVER
You know what’s a negative yet true statement? “Never say never!” I know I’ve said ‘never’ about something I didn’t want to happen before and it ended up happening.
Why not increase the possibilities of great things you want to happen to you? Instead of thinking/saying, “That’s never going to happen.”, replace it with “When that happens…”
(I’M) TIRED.
This phrase really irks me so much and I hate it when people say it around me. I never want to say the ‘t’ word if I’m not feeling that way. And even if I’m feeling that way, I never say the entire word out loud.
This may be just me, but my goal is to not let my body know that it’s feeling that way so if I want all the energy in the world, I just erase this phrase entirely from my vocabulary.
LOSE
This negative word is what I’ve learned to take out of my vocabulary. Instead of saying, “I’m going to ‘lose’ weight,” I tell people that I’m going to ‘release’ 30 pounds. Why? Because when you lose something, either you or it find its way back to you again. When you say, ‘release’, you’re letting it go forever. Now, isn’t that fun thinking when it comes to shedding those pounds?!
The words you speak will add or take away from your life. Click To Tweet
Removing negative words from your vocabulary will be a game-changer in your life. I promise. When you start doing this, take note on how much more positive energy and joy flows into your life once you speak, yep, words of LIFE.
The power of the tongue is real and true. I highly recommend you read The Power of Your Words by Robert Morris if you want to look more into this. It’s a short book so you can definitely read it in a week even if you have a busy schedule.
What negative words or phrases are you working on cutting out of your life?
Leave a comment and let me know!
Oh and I forgot to mention one favorite phrase I like saying. When something happens that I dislike, say, getting a flat tire after a long day at work or cracking the screen on my iPhone after dropping it, I say, “How inconvenient!” Instead of complaining about the situation I’m experiencing, I’m acknowledging that what I’m currently going through isn’t that big of a deal compared to what’s happening in other people’s lives.
It’s weird, but after saying that, I just laugh about it because I realize that although whatever situation I’m in is inconvenient, it’s not the end of the world either. Learning and applying this phrase in my life has really kept me grounded.
Try it out and the words I’ve recommended earlier to replace your negative vocabulary and let me know how you feel or how your life has changed!
Danielle Alexa
December 1, 2018Such a great blog post, I couldn’t agree with it more!
Danielle xx
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