Changing your vocabulary changes your life

[MikeNY]

I've been making an extremely conscious effort to change my vocabulary some. It would probably count more as grammer.

Here is an example of what I am referring to:

In stead of saying "I need to talk to you" or "I'll talk to you later", or other similar things. I have made small changes such as "I need to talk WITH you" or "I'll talk WITH you later"

Small changes like that make a huge difference to other people.

Just some food for thaught.

 

[Aden]

Interesting point. We'll discuss it later.

 

[jwwells]

There is quite a lot of support for changes in speach creating changes in attitude. Both Cognitive psychology and spirituality have found major increases in attitude and life enjoyment coming after changes in speach.

The changes which create the most improvement are:

- using the active voice
- using the present tense
- not using negative imagery

Making these changes can be difficult as it involves repatterning.

jw

 

[MikeNY]

Yes, this all does tie into "the power of positive thinking". I have started doing it for other reasons. It is commonly known amongst the people who know me, and I have been labeled by other people whom I have interacted with, and even been studied by, as having above average intelligence. When I am being defensive about anything, the intelligence combined with certain mannerisms push people away, even the ones who may be in a position to be able to provide some sort of assistance. For me, this all has to do with how changing my grammer effects other people more than how it effects myself. It is the exact same concept, just applied in a "think outside the box" style.

 

[Lloydy]

Mike
I also think that what we write can benefit from a change in language and grammer.

I'm slowly working my way through my journal that I started in 1998 and updating it.
(I'm careful not to lose the original though and save the new version as something else. )

I've always tried hard to find the right word or phrase to describe what I want to convey, even in a personal journal.
I find that pausing to find that exact word slows me down, and then I think deeper about what I want to say. Even if it's the difference between saying "fucked" or "had sex", thinking about the context of each description and how it applies to the situation I'm describing makes a difference.

I rarely use "had sex" just to appease other peoples sensitivities, and I don't use "fucked" to shock. But there are times when each of them suits a particular situation.

Semantics is even more important when it comes to laying blame where it belongs.
Now, I would never say "we had sex" or "we fucked"
because "I didn't"
Even when running thoughts through our minds it's vital that we choose our words carefully to reflect the reality of the situations.

It's not about using the correct 'text book' language either, it's about using whatever language we know and understand to help change the way we think.

Dave

 

[MikeNY]

LOL. That's a whole new topic I think. The differences between making love, having sex, fucking, etc..

Yes, these little changes make all of the difference with our own thaughts and projections, and with other people's receiving and interperating them.

The example that I gave above is much more accurate and a much less aggressive or abrasive way of saying the same thing. They are simple phrases that we use every day. The changes like that are so slight, but even at an unconscious level it relays more feeling toward the people in our lives. Simple changes like that make people more responsive to you. Until I was forced to think about it, I never considered just how aggresive and even forceful some simple things like that can actually be toward the people around us. In the example above, the use of the word "to" is much more likely to bring a emotional / defensive response from someone than the word "with". Like you said, it also works with writing. It is extremely difficult to relay the proper emotion in writing. These small changes effect your entire life. I think that very many good things can be said about positive thinking and other similar things. I have used them in the past. They have helped me. Now, I'm expanding on one in what I fully believe is a good and positive way. It has had great results so far.