Do your words matter? Heck YES!

Years ago I read about how good it was to talk to your flowers lovingly. The positive talk, they said, would help the flowers to grow bigger, better, and healthier.

I saw pictures like this. When people told their flowers they loved them, the flowers flourished. And when people spoke negative words to flowers, they wilted and died.

THE UNDENIABLE POWER OF YOUR WORDS

It sounded too weird to me. So in the interest of checking this out, I had my university students bring two same-sized onions to class, with two glasses, and two labels to put on the glasses … one saying “I love you” and the other one saying “I hate you.”

Within two weeks, the onion root systems and growth … or lack of it … was dramatic. They looked like this. The love-affirmed onion was growing big time as the hate-attacked onion was dying.

Sounds wild, doesn’t it? But Dr. Masaru Emoto documents this phenomenon in his book, The Hidden Messages in Water.

He says, “Beyond any doubt, what you think and say have very powerful effects on every cell in your body.”

Can you imagine the mind-blowing implications of all of this? If the words you speak to a low-life onion have the power of life and death in them, then the words you think or speak to yourself, in a very similar sense, literally shape your destiny.

CHOOSE CAREFULLY WHAT YOU SAY TO YOURSELF

During World War II, we used a slogan in America, “Loose lips sink ships.” In other words, be careful what you say and who you say it to. You might accidentally share information that the enemy could use against us.

In a similar sense, just like the flowers, your loose lips might sink your chances of success … or getting ahead … or improving your relationship … or improving your health … or anything else.

Put another way, if you think the wrong thoughts and speak the wrong words, you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. The chances are very good that those bad things will hold you back and stop good things from happening in you and your life.

For starters, you must eliminate what I call the Mind Binders you tell yourself. They’re always destructive. There are thousands of them, but some common ones are…

I can’t, because…
I know I shouldn’t, but…
It’s not my fault, it’s the fault of…
Nothing ever changes; I give up.

Remember, you will not and you cannot rise above your own self-talk.

So recognize the Mind Binders that go through your mind and out your mouth. STOP IT!

Again, I will address that in my virtual program on 7 Tools that Program Your Mind for Success. Join me on January 23 from 3-4:30 pm ET.

If you’re still a skeptic about the power of your thoughts and words and their impact on your success or failure, let me encourage you to …

DO THE RESEARCH

That’s what the Clarke Community Schools did in Iowa. Some of their leaders had attended my two-day Journey-to-the-Extraordinary program where I talked about the flower and onion stories I shared above. So they decided this would be a life-changing, unforgettable experience for their students to have.

Randy Bolton, the principal, set up the onion experiment, as I described, in several elementary classrooms. Within a short time, the students and teachers were eagerly, excitedly asking the principal to stop by their rooms. They said, “We have something to show you that you probably won’t believe!”

The glass that had the “I-love-you” label on it had an onion full of life, greener in color, and roots growing vigorously. The onion that had the “I-hate-you” label on it had very few roots that were turning brown and black, because it did not feel good about itself.

When Randy asked the elementary school children what they learned, their answers were worth noting.

If we can hurt an onion with our mean talk than we can hurt each other.

The “I-love-you” onion is standing straighter and looks healthier. I think the same thing happens to us as kids.

We nearly killed the “I-hate-you” onion. Its roots were dark and its greens were wilted. This is how kids feel when people do or say “I-hate-you” things.

The “I-love-you” onion drank much more water. I think when an onion or a person feels loved, they want to grow.

If you say something negative in your mind, people can still hear it. It can hurt them just as much as when we say it out loud.

We do lots of “I-hate-you” things without saying those exact words, using mean talk like, ‘I was here first … You are stupid … I’m not going to play with you … I’m not going to be your friend or play with you.’

What did they learn? And what can we learn from all of this?

First, words have power, for good or bad.

Second, watch what you think and say. Are your thoughts and words positive or negative?

Third, reduce your use of negative thoughts and words. Increase your conscious use of positive words.

Fourth, expect bigger and better things to happen in your life and work as a result.

Dr. Zimmerman’s Tuesday Tip, Issue: 1279- Do your words matter? Heck YES!

For a copy of Dr. Zimmerman’s latest book, The Champion Edge: Skill Sets That Fire Up Your Business and Life, go to https://www.businessexpertpress.com/books/the-champion-edge-skill-sets-that-fire-up-your-business-and-life/

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