I have no self discipline. None. But I do have ambition, so over the years I've learned some tricks that I can employ to hold myself accountable to goals I set. I've gotten to know myself enough that I recognize the things in life that will force me to keep my promises.
One of them is saying things out loud.
I can think about how much I'd like to do X a million times a year. If X is a task I find unpleasant or of a hard-working nature or--heaven forbid--not immediately gratifying, it will likely never get done. I can even write the promise down. I love to make lists. To Do List Item #1: Do X. Hmm. Still not a stirring of motivation within me. But... if I say out loud to someone, "I will do X." Oh, now this is something altogether different.
Now, I've said the words out loud.
I've set them free into the the universe.
I've given the words power.
You each know what I'm talking about. You've each experienced this magic, this power words have. Maybe not in the same way I've described, but we've all had experiences where saying something out loud has changed us, changed our lives, our relationships in some way.
Think about the first time you or a lover said 'I love you'. You could have been thinking it for a while before you said it. From the moment you acknowledged it to yourself, that knowledge was the burning motivation driving your actions. Your lover may have even known how you felt and may have felt the same. And yet...when you said it out loud, when you released the words and gave them power, things changed for you, didn't they?
Words have power. They are magical, wonderous, dangerous things. I am a writer because I believe in their power, because I believe in the profound changes they can create in a life, in the world.
What about you? What powerful effect have words had on your life?
2 comments:
"I want to get a PhD". Talk about saying something out loud to someone else being life changing.
The conversation with the long term boyfriend went something like this.
BF: "I've been offered job in x state and y state, where to you want to live when we graduate and get married"
Me: "I don't want to live in x state or y state after we graduate. I don't want to get married right away. I want to get a PhD."
4 long hours later we were no longer a we, something that should have been accomplished years earlier. I was never freeer in my life. Always thought it, but once I said it out loud it put me on the path that led me to who I am today.
The courage to say the words helps give them the power.
Thanks for reminding me of the power.
Wow. Thanks for sharing. :)
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