“Words have power” is an overused but accurate statement. We all like to say that words, whether our own or someone else’s, don’t affect us, but they do, for better or for worse. The right words can change our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and so much more — especially our own words. Read on to learn more.
It Affects Our Thoughts
Language influences our thoughts in ways we don’t even notice. If we tell ourselves we can’t do something, or if someone else tells us, it will impact our performance. We either won’t do it because we think we know how it will end or if we do try it, we perform poorly because we believe we will fail. We become a self-fulfilling prophecy at that point. If a young student has trouble with math and thinks that they’re terrible at it, they will continue struggling with the subject because they think they can’t understand it.
Gendered language also affects how we think. For example, we now use the term “police officer” but it wasn’t long ago when it was just “policeman.” This likely influenced a lot of women to think that they couldn’t be officers because it was a man’s occupation. Our thoughts influence our beliefs and actions, so if we think this one thing is true and can’t be changed, we will simply accept it as inevitable and unchangeable.
Words Impact Our Mental and Physical Wellbeing
If someone believes in themself, or if someone else believes in them, they feel more confident. The opposite is also true. Negative thoughts and words affect how we interact with others, how we view ourselves, and feelings of anxiety and sadness. Positive words and thoughts are beneficial to us, but they are harder to retain than negativity, so people have to work extra hard to keep up the positivity.
When we think and believe negative things, it also affects our bodies. Stress levels rise, which can cause physical symptoms like chest tightness, headaches, irregular sleep, and more. Chronic stress can lead to health issues like high blood pressure, insomnia, diabetes, etc. Our physical health is influenced by the language we tell ourselves and hear from others, making it important to carefully monitor.
Verbal vs. Written Language
Verbal communication has a major advantage over written language — the ability to express and understand the intent and emotion behind words. Any potential misunderstandings can be cleared up quickly or avoided altogether, and it may be a faster method of communication. However, some topics may not be brought up this way, perhaps due to being uncomfortable in nature, since it’s easier to be brave behind a screen rather than face-to-face.
When reading the written word, we don’t have body language or tone of voice to use as context clues to understand the intention. Using emojis can help, but it may be hard to utilize sometimes, such as in professional emails, so it’s easy for miscommunications to occur. On the other hand, having it written makes it easy to go back and reread to understand the message or remember what was said — for better or for worse.
How Our Words Influence Others
When someone is kind to us, we generally feel a little happier and optimistic, and it may make a bad day a little better. If someone is rude or has a general negative demeanor, however, it’s all too easy to get caught up in it. Our words and emotions affect those around us whether we intend to or not, and it’s not hard to fall into a pattern.
This is also why we can recall both insults and compliments about us. The negative outweighs the positive, perhaps because insults and similar negative comments make us think we’re doing something wrong, whereas compliments make us think we’re doing well. We can do the same with our words, which is why it’s important to choose them carefully.
The right — or wrong — words can change our lives and the lives of those around us, even if we’re not intending to do so. It’s important to be careful with what we say to others, and to ourselves.
Click here for an article on the history of the English language.
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