“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.
Years ago I pulled all of my daily blogs into a software program so I could have it create a Wordle. For those who may not be familiar with what a Wordle is, it’s an automatically generated collage of the most commonly used words that appear from things you’ve written that get laid out into a really cool collage image with the most frequently used words showing up biggest and boldest in the collage. It was my first time creating a Wordle and it was really cool for me to get to see this collage of the words I’d used most over so many years of writing blogs.
As I sat looking at this collage of words that I had used in my blogs I couldn’t help but wonder – what if all of us could pull every word that had come out of our mouths over the course of our lives into a Wordle? What would our Wordles look like? Would we be proud of the words that we have used most? Would our Wordle be positive and inspiring to look at? Would our Wordle 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? Or would we be embarrassed by the image our Wordle reflects?
Picturing our verbal Wordle is an awesome exercise because it can help us gain insight into what we need to do to improve, and what words we ought to remove from our vocabulary.
“If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it.” – Earl Wilson
Take a moment to picture the verbal Wordle you’ve been creating with your spoken words. Commit to having your words be positive, uplifting and encouraging. Compliment people with genuine feedback. Share words of encouragement to lift other’s spirits. Speak words of gratitude daily.
Let the words we say reflect a Wordle so uplifting we’d be proud to have it hung on display.
~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )
