It's all in the Language!

Have you ever noticed that your language can make you feel different? It almost comes down to a state of mind.

I have the bad habit of saying “I have to do this” or “I have to do that”. One day I really heard myself and it sounded awful. I think it was when I was going to pick up some of my grandchildren from school. I thought to myself, that doesn’t sound very nice. It sounded like a burden and it wasn’t. How blessed I am to have grand children and be able to pick them up from school.

The more I thought about this the more I realized how often I talked like that. As Oprah would say, it was an “Ah-ha” moment. From that point on I have tried to watch how I say things. To be honest it is uncomfortable for me to pay attention to this little problem. However, considering how many times a day I did that, even just to myself or in my mind, it was a lot.

I have always been a deep thinker (or so my Aunt says). We have all heard about the power of the spoken word. How it can build up or tear down emotions. I’m sure we all try and be careful how we speak to others. So why not be careful how we speak to ourselves?

Colossians 3:8
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

Well negative talk might not be filthy language, but it sure isn’t helpful. It doesn’t do anything but bring me down, so why do it.

Just making a few changes like this makes a difference in my life. First off I don’t have to do anything. No one is going to come in my house and get me if I don’t do something. Now, my husband, family and friends might not be too happy if I don’t do the things I am responsible for, but my life doesn’t depend on it. Plus I am sort of a rebel kind of person, so I only like to do things that I want to do.

Changes I have made are making a difference. I don’t feel so weighted down with things if I use different language when speaking to others or myself. Now I would just say something like, “I’m picking up the kids”. There is no negative sound in that sentence.

Do I accomplish this every day? Of course I don’t, but I can tell you this, it helps my attitude as I go through my list of things to do each day or week. If making this little change in my language improves my attitude, then count me in.