We know you’ve all heard about how important our language is in creating what we want in life, but when was the last time you really took an audit and noticed the words you are using?
Overshare alert from Al: In my teenage years, I had a stomach ulcer, and was often constipated. An interesting thing is that two of my fave phrases were, “Shit a brick” and “I’m just gutless”, I wonder if my physical ailments were supported by my linguistic influence (or linguistic determinism, depending on who you read), or even vice versa?
Regardless, there’s little doubt that our perceptions of ourselves, of others, and our world are influenced by our language. We know that the Inuit People have more words for snow than we do in English, perhaps due to the nuances required to describe their frozen environment. Anthropologists tell us that the fastest way to destroy a community is to remove the language. And of course we have all been part of groups/professions that have their own jargon to clarify things peculiar and specific to that group.
So back to us. What about our lingo? When we are thinking of abundance, and having more of what we want in life, where are we drawing our words from? Are we saying things like, “I should do that filing” and “I have to go to work”? Or are we going up the language hierarchy and saying things like, “I want to go to work” and “I choose to do that filing”?
This week, notice what you are saying, and notice the different sensation you get if you consciously select terms like: want to, like to, choose to and love to, instead of should do, ought to, need to, have to.
Tip: If it’s tricky to notice yourself, listen to people around you.
Have fun with this one. See if you can alter your perceptions.
(We will pop the Language Hierarchy in Useful Stuff in your Member Area.)
-Alison and Sam