The Power of Words

In my 7th grade English class, I was taught about a word’s connotation along with its denotation; connotation is the emotion(s) and association(s) connected to a word while denotation is the literal definition of the word. Out of all the things I learned that year, connotation is one of the highlights. It affirmed my belief that words carry weight.

From that moment on, I have been meticulous when it comes to how I express myself. Making sure to choose words that accurately articulate what I want to convey. Even now, as I write this journal, I am being intentional about my word choice. Each word either has a positive, negative, or neutral connotation. For example, being called “smart” has a positive connotation while being called “stupid” has a negative one. The tricky part about connotation is understanding that although a word may mean one thing to you, it could be taken differently by another person due to their background and past experiences.

News reporters are utilizing words and their connotations to the max. When a headline is written, it is done so in a way that tugs at the reader’s emotions. This is especially prevalent if they want you to support their view and condemn another’s. (I’m referencing political reporting here.) They will use powerful and polarizing words with the specific intent to rile up the audience to invoke a response.

Listening to music, conversing with someone, watching Netflix, even reading this journal post, words comprise a substantial amount of our days. Which is why I believe it’s that much more important to pay attention to them. What are we hearing and saying on the daily? Are the conversations we’re having more positive or negative leaning? How about the music we listen to? What about our social media feeds? Do they empower us or make us feel drained?

Reaching deeper, we can look at how we speak to ourselves. Are you supporting yourself through your day to day? Whenever I fail, my inner self talk is understanding and encouraging. I mentally coach myself through the difficulty with my words. “That didn’t go to plan, but that’s okay. You can move forth now with the field research from this experience. Keep at it, you got this!” Every experience I have, regardless of preferred outcome or not, I consider field research. I’m exploring life and running experiments to see what works for me.

I find I’m more willing to try again when I’m gentle and kind to myself. If I fail and begin calling myself “stupid, lazy, unorganized, etc.” how is that helping me? (Hint: it’s not.) If you tell yourself something enough times, whether it’s true or not, you’ll begin to believe it. This is why Law of Attraction, manifestation and visualization are key components in my life. They’re built off your mind and what comes out of it. Knowing that, I do everything I can to ensure what I’m outputing is truly in alignment with my values and beliefs.

Growing up, we’re told the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you wish to be treated. When I speak, I choose words with positive connotations to uplift the people who hear them (myself included). Overall, words carry weight. How people feel around you and how you feel about yourself depends on them. Choose wisely.