Speaking the change we want to see.
We can rewire our brains toward good things. We can also find ourselves rewired by what we experience.
According to the noted linguist, George Lakoff, repeating language shapes our sense of reality.
He writes:
Image reads:
“Repetition of language has the power to change brains. When a word or phrase is repeated over and over for a long period of time, the neural circuits that compute its meaning are activated repeatedly in the brain. As the neurons in those circuits fire, the synapses connecting the neurons in the circuits get stronger and the circuits may eventually become permanent, which happens when you learn the meaning of any word in your fixed vocabulary.”
– George Lakoff, Whose Freedom?: The Battle over America’s Most Important Idea
Words repeated become fixed. Words we hear and words we say. The more our brains interact with them, the more they shape the very circuitry of our brains.
Words shape our reality.
That is some power! We can shape our own reality—and those of others.
Notice that this has nothing to do with persuasion. A word we most associate with influence, rhetoric, or helping another person see what we see. Repeating a word defines the word.
How often do people define your world?
How often do you use your words against yourself?
Beau Sia shared Lakoff’s tweet with a thoughtful invocation:
“what will you repeat to help nurture truth, understanding, and compassion?”
What good will you speak?
To yourself? Your friends and families? Your neighbors?
If we hope to be the change we want to see, we begin with our words. Because they will always define who we are.
And we are good. Blessed. Hopeful. Patient. Learning. Generous. Compassionate.
Let that stuff out. Make it real in your world.