Words Matter Be Sure To Use Them Wisely

Use positive words

“…But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief.” -Unknown

This past week has been hell on wheels for me. Too much to cope with, and my mind was on overload. I felt like I was going to explode.

It has nothing to do with anyone but myself, but someone did help push me over the edge.

They have no idea the impact they had. It brought me back to when I was a boss and what I had learned about interacting with people and helping them grow.

It took me considerable time and effort to learn the skills needed to be a proactive boss. When I say boss, I mean the person in charge of a group of people. They did not work for me, I worked with them, and in a way, I worked for them.

We were there to get a job done in the best way possible. It was my job to guide them while teaching and motivating them. It was my job to help them want to learn and be better at their job. It was also my hope that I would help them become better people because of how I interacted with them.

That is so important, and we do not have to be the boss to use that skill. It is a skill everyone should learn, hone, and pass on.

It is a form of interpersonal skill and human compassion. It takes awareness of everyone around you and how you respond.

We all have power. The problem is that we do not understand that just one word or sentence can affect someone else.

We do not stop and think when we respond, especially when we cannot see the other person. In an email exchange, you are the other person, so you are invisible. It is almost like you are not real — you have no substance and, therefore, no value.

That happened to me this week — an exchange right here on Medium. I will not name names; it does not matter. It could have been anywhere or with anyone.

What matters is when you are asked a question by a faceless person, someone you do not know, think about how you respond.

Choose your words carefully. Do not use negatives. If you cannot do this, simply decline the help they asked for and move on.

Defer the question to someone else.

Your words matter. So does the person on the other end.