Words are powerful. Choose a good one for you.
The room was full of middle school girls. They had just finished playing their league’s basketball championship finals, and the parents had organized a party to celebrate the end of the season. While they were eating their food, the coach made his final speech. He chose a word to describe each of the 16 girls from 5th to 8th grade. Words such as growth, listener, strong, passion, intensity, courage, etc. And he gave each one of them a heartfelt speech.
“Alice,” he said about my 10-year-old daughter. “You grew quite taller this year. But more than size, you grew so much as a player. You’re stronger and more confident, you understand the game, and you got better in every aspect!”
I could see the smile on each girl as he explained why they got their word and how proud he was of them.
Words do more than communicate — they have an impact on people. They can build someone up, but they can also hurt and destroy. Our goal should always be to use words that are helpful to other people and even ourselves. More than changing results and perspectives, words can create things. They create your world — your successes and failures.
A study published in 2020 shows that PE teachers and coaches can stimulate kids to better physical performance and positive feelings just by verbal encouragement.
The study observed the physiological responses of soccer players. The heart rate and blood lactate concentration of players who received verbal encouragement during exercises were much higher than exercises without encouragement. They were motivated and had a more positive mood, high intensity, and physical enjoyment.
So when a coach screams encouragement on the court’s sidelines, he’s not just making noises or giving instructions. He’s literally improving his team’s physical performance.
Words are powerful. They can change people’s lives, performance results, and even their pain perception.
Another study shows the word’s impact on pain. Using fMRI, researchers found that pain-related or negative words made an electrical stimulus with high intensity more painful than when neutral words were used. The same with patients’ responses to painful medical procedures. They reported more pain and discomfort when they received an explanation of the procedures using pain-related words.
If words are so powerful, how careful are we when dealing with them?
“If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths. Our limitations and joys begin in our hearts. We can always replace negative with positive.” -Betty Eadie
Words and thoughts are the tools we have to create our reality. They can truly transform your life. So use only the best ones! Consider the power of your words and make a mark that will last forever — on your own life and those around you.
