“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” -Buddha

Words are such a powerful thing. Especially the words we speak. They can build up or tear down, hurt or heal, uplift or destroy. I personally believe that words, when unkind, can be far more damaging than physical pain and can take far longer to heal from. On the other hand, positive words can inspire, motivate, and change lives for the better. Words are a powerful tool.

Years ago I pulled all of my daily blogs into a program to create a Wordle.  A Wordle for those who are unfamiliar with that term is an automatically generated collage of the most commonly used words you have written that it lays out into a cool picture image with the most heavily used words you use in bold.  Creating this Wordle was my first time to use the software and it was really fun to see the words that I have used over and over again in my daily blogs over the years.

As I thought about this collection of words that I had written in my blogs, I couldn’t help but wonder – if all of us could pull every word that comes out of our mouths into a Wordle, what would our Wordle look like? Would we be proud of the words that we have repeated over and over again? Would we be proud of our Wordle of spoken words? Would it be positive and inspiring? Would it lift others up? Would it be full of complimentary words that we shared with others around us to give them credit and encouragement in their lives? Would the words “thank you” and “love” and “please” and “grateful” be big and bold?

I want to be more mindful of the words I speak each day so that if a Wordle was ever created from those words that I would be proud of it!

A great quote to think about when choosing your words you speak is this:

“If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it.” – Earl Wilson

Today’s challenge is for all of us to start to really consider the verbal wordle we are creating with our spoken words.  Let’s really focus on having our words be positive and uplifting and encouraging.  Compliment people with genuine feedback.  Share words of encouragement to lift someone’s spirits.  Speak words of gratitude daily.  Let the words we say leave a wordle that we will forever be proud of!

~Amy