Saturday 11 November 2017

Words of power

Lets start with the basic concept of words. So, what are words? Google says that it’s a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed. Boring isn’t? This meaning might look too contextual, in its original form. Let me explain it more simply, it’s actually the building block of your communication, its actually how you express your feelings while interacting with someone. The effect of your words is so powerful that either it can make you or break you. If used at the right place and at the right time, it can make you successful, but when used carelessly, it not only hurts other sentiments but also can create a black hole which can suck life out of you. It is said that when you hear a word in your day to day life, your mind actually makes a picture of that thing, and then you recognize what that word stands for. Take for an instance, if I say the word ‘Apple’, your mind within a fraction of second creates a picture of an apple which is red in color, and not only that its links experiences with that picture, like how’s apple taste? It’s sweet right, it’s hard from outside etc. So, you see how mind actually search the word, in your brain, and tries to squeeze out every possible context related to it, and that too within no time. Yeah, it’s true your brain is faster than your computer you are currently using. So, feel proud out of it.
Now lets go little deeper in the meaning, if I say that , Hey Sam,you are worthless, how will he feel? Bad or maybe worse, now instead of using the word worthless, if I used priceless and say, Hey Sam, you are priceless, now how will he feel now? Good isn’t? .So if Sam  returned home , after having a very bad day, and his spouse used the first statement instead of the second, don’t you think it will be more depressing for him?. Technically speaking the words ‘worth’ and ‘price’ are identical, so how come ‘worthless’ and ‘priceless’ be different? It’s because how we take those words into action, it’s all in our mind. It’s on us how we use these words, how we want to make the person feel, who is standing right in front of us. These words can be as harsh or it can be sweet as honey. These words can make your relation better with others, or it can lead to misunderstanding and complexities. More importantly, it can make you a better person, or it can make a hell out of you. Anybody that’s ever studied history has at some point or another learned about the dropping of the atomic bomb ”Little Boy” and “Fat Man” by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  This was the first and only time in history that nuclear weapons had ever been used in war. The importance of this event cannot be overstated, especially since it might have been avoided if not for a simple misunderstanding.  This misunderstanding came from, you guessed it, a poor translation.  When asked if Japan would surrender during World War II, the Japanese ruler used the word “mokusatsu” in response.  Now what the Japanese word meant was “we withhold comment – pending discussion”, but when the response was sent to Washington the word was mistranslated to mean “We are treating your message with contempt”.  This was picked up by the media and spread like a wildfire around the world. Undoubtedly frustrated by what he thought the response meant, and knowing he needed to respond sternly, President Truman decided that the atomic bombs were a perfect weapon to use.  Why this message wasn’t more heavily scrutinized for any possible mistranslation seems very strange, but regardless, this simple mistake led to 1,50,000-2,50,000 people being  either got killed or injured and many got exposed  to radiation. So, not only choosing the right words is important, but also how you say it also important. If you say something with energy, with passion, people are more likely to believe what you are saying and you are actually passing a positive energy waves towards them and you are filling them with. But instead, if you are saying some statement lethargically, and with a low tone, as if you seem that you yourself are not interested or believe in what you are saying, then how can the people you are addressing, will find an interest in them, and not only that you are also withdrawing energy out of them. So, one should practice of using words that not only fits for humanity but also brings morale to one’s own character. Once you got the habit of choosing the right word, that strongly defines your feeling, you not only connect with the listener mentally but also emotionally. You can see the application of these points, when you see a motivational public speaker up on stage, see how he uses his expression and feelings mixed with powerful words to bring about change in the fellow audience. The audience sitting in front of him not only enjoys the time while he/she is speaking, but more often connects to his state of mind from the very first statement he declares. Just listen to one or two great speeches of leaders, and you will come to know about the difference. The power of words is so great, that the moment you learn to use it correctly, these words can heal even a patient that is suffering from a deadly disease. Use as much as positive words in your life, even when you are angry, don’t use words that are harsh, use the words more wisely. You might have heard about the famous movie ‘The Dead Poet Society’, in which Robin Williams played the character of a teacher named John Keats, and inspires his students by saying,” No matter what people tell you, words and idea can change the world”. Yeah, I do believe in what is said. Every dream can become a thought, every thought can become an idea, every idea can come into action, if you have the courage to do so. Ideas are transferred through words. And if you have the courage to stand what you say, I think half battle is already won. Once you get the habit of saying,” I do believe in what I say” in your mind after every important thing you convey, you get filled with confidence enough to accomplish that thing.

As it’s rightly said, ‘Action speaks louder than the words’. Don’t just go around blabbering, no one will believe in you and take you seriously. Believe in what you say, take action to bring those thoughts into reality, have faith in yourself. Who will be against you if God is with you? When we speak we should speak with mindfulness, in a way to solidify peace and compassion in our characters. We must be ‘lovingly honest’; we must discipline ourselves to speak in a manner that coveys gentleness, respect and humility. People will come and go, but what remains till the very end is their words. So start from today itself of speaking only positive words, and see how it will affect you in the future.So, can you do this?