.:total Bliss:.

**THE POWER OF WORDS**

It’s not what you do, it’s what you say. We all know that words hold the power to restore, dissuade, encourage, and destroy. In short, our words make concrete decisions for us. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Your heart is your character and your mouth is a reflective mirror. One thing that I’ve learned a lot about this year is the power of words. I’ve always known this as a general lesson, but within the past few months my understanding has augmented and daily life subsequently changed.   My core inspiration has been a daily read of the Bible as well as a book entitled “What You Say is What You Get.”

Often times when we hear about the phrase “speaking things into existence” we only think about the future and how our words affect the future. But our words just as equally affect our present. If you ever find yourself saying things like “man I hate my job” “I’m always broke” “Why can’t I just do it?” just take a second to pause in the moment and evaluate your speech. You will realize that you are constantly in that situation, because that is what is constantly coming out of your mouth.

The Bible states “let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich.” Notice it doesn’t say let the weak say I WILL be strong, let the poor say I WILL be rich. No, it’s instead declaring it applying it to the moment and the current position. So change the words of the former three phrases. It takes a conscious effort and is pretty hard to do because we may think about our speech before or after we speak, but we hardly notice it while we are speaking. Of course you don’t want to be in denial of your emotions. Emotions are real and you feel them for a reason. They are an indication of where your heart is, however, emotions are also only temporary and do not last forever. Wild emotions and a powerful tongue are a deadly combination. It’s good to acknowledge your feelings, but do not let them solely control your tongue. You may feel like you hate your job, but instead say “I feel like I hate my job but I know It will get better”  Instead of “why can’t I just do it” say “This feels hard to do, but I’m working on it every day.” This is much better than the constant self fulfilled pity party.

The Bible also states that every single word we say we will have to give an account for. That statement alone fully illustrates the importance of words without needed supplemental explanations.  It takes effort and daily practice, because we don’t normally do so, but change this and see how your life changes. Remember, your words decide things for you and as you speak you are making decisions about your life.

I did not say the following affirmation every day, but it is one of my favorites, which my mentor would have my classmates and I say.

Just for today, I will not be angry. Just for today, I will not worry. Just for today, I will be grateful. Just for today, I will do my work honestly. Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.

 I think it’s a great one because this day is all that you know you have, do not worry about tomorrow, make your decisions JUST FOR TODAY.