Words, Words, Words…Which words are you using and are you paying attention to the words that you are stringing together day-in and day-out. Are you really paying attention to their meanings and how they could be affecting your overall outlook, mood or feeling?

Well, this blog post will definitely give you food-for-thought and hopefully help you better use your words in your daily practice of self-care. Continue reading below.

Growing Into Words

Why are we even talking about words?

As a mum with growing toddlers, words are kind of a big deal in my house. The little ones are learning lots of new words every day. Together, we are constantly practicing how to pronounce words, explaining the meaning of words, and looking for ways to practice using the words that we know.

As they are growing, they are still having moments when they want to revert back to the infant stage when they did not know words or at least how to verbalize with words what they were feeling or exactly what they wanted. So, in true infant fashion, in those moments, they just cry…waahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which often becomes a game of “guess that cry?” starring:  Mummy, Daddy, Relatives, Friends, Any Passer-By on the street that wants to offer help or their unsolicited opinion..lol

Begin Game: Guess that Cry

Buzzer Beeps…That’s a hungry cry

Buzzer Beeps …That’s a sleepy cry

Buzzer Beeps …That’s a dirty diaper cry

Buzzer Beeps …That baby is hot cry

Buzzer Beeps …That baby just wants to be held cry…

Buzzer Beeps…. That baby wants you to make goo goo faces cry…

               Buzzer Beeps …Don’t ask me cry..lol

In the end, there may be no winners…lol…but in most cases, it typically the last guess of like 35 that wins 😊.

So, I think by now that you get the gist; Because babies cannot effectively communicate with words, the list of guess that cry can literally go on and on because crying is a main method of communication for babies but it does nothing for their caregivers who do not under the differences in cries.  As infants grow, they learn words and are better able to express themselves and the guessing game is no longer needed.

Adults and Words

Fast Forward to adults, adulting, in their adulthood. Somehow, we forget that words are there to help us communicate our needs effectively. Words are supposed to help us tell others what is wrong with us, what we need at any given time, what we want to change or to be change, etc.

Words, words, words…

Words would be nothing without meaning, or a common understanding and acceptance of the meaning by others.

We use words every day to relay our ideas, share information, and express our feelings.

We select the words that we use based on their meaning and based on the message that we want to convey.

The reason we have different languages is because the meaning of certain words is only understood by some people. So, you get people that speak certain languages and others that only understand a few words here and there and therefore can’t claim to be fluent in that language.

What To Do When Negative Words Are Overpowering The Positive Words?

To combat many of our negative thinking and patterns, we could practice mindfulness. Simply being more aware of what we are thinking and saying. We can also practice using positive affirmations. Deliberate actions and repetition of words that speak positivity over our lives, situations and overall being.

We can utilize the power in words to really empower ourselves each and every day. We could even extend it beyond our needs and practice it with others.

We can allow the positive thinking and affirmations to become our new norm and become our default way of thinking even during some of life’s hardest challenges. Linking positive words to all situations and focusing on the more positive perspective of all matters, thereby always channeling positivity.

Self-Care, Self-Love, Use of Words…

So when we are talking to ourselves, whether out loud or in our heads, we need to be mindful of what we are doing and saying. 

Even in our heads, when not speaking out loud, words can be both empowering or limiting. It can dictate our behaviors and influence our perspectives. It can lead to our forming negative thought patterns or creating positive ones, either can really play a big role in our overall mental health. 

We can practice using Self-Love Words, Kind Words, Words of Affirmation…

Every time before we speak, we can pause and really think about the power and meaning  behind every word that we are about to use.

This applies to when we:

 Think about how we look, …we can choose to use kind and positive words

think about how we are mothering, …we can choose honest and positive words

When we think about all the things that’s still left on our To-Do List, we will choose to also remember our accomplishments, no matter how big or small.

In closing, let’s all remember to:

Choose Our Words.

Say What We Mean, and Mean What We Say, as the old saying goes.

Let us string words together so that people can always walk away from the exchanges that we have with them knowing exactly what we meant.

Let’s string our words together so that we can wake up the next day feeling empowered and ready to take on the day.

Effective communication is all about the words, Just Choose the Right Words,  It’s Just That Easy and a SIMPLE FORM OF SELF-CARE