I’ve been seeing lots of posts lately on twitter and facebook about carefully choosing your words and even received a newsletter today entitled “the power of the spoken word.” There’s no question that the words we choose can make or break our next business deal. But what about the words we say to ourselves…

A few years ago I interviewed an extraordinary woman. She was a guest on Oprah not once but three times and is a New York Times best selling author. The interview went better than I hoped. She was eloquent, profound, an inspiration.

When the interview was over we got on the phone for some girl talk. At some point after talking about travel and books the conversation turned to business. This incredible woman began to tell me the story of a recent technical blunder she experienced only to discover there was a simple solution to the problem right under her nose the entire time.

She confessed that after she realized how silly the whole thing was she said to herself (and I quote) “stupid, stupid, stupid, me.”

I was stunned.

Stunned that someone so well educated in psychology, human behavior and personal empowerment would talk down to herself in such a manner.

But she isn’t alone. People with less education and credentials (and even people with more) call themselves terrible names all the time and think nothing of it.

Few would argue that name-calling is ever okay. We’re taught at a young age that if we can’t say something nice we should say nothing at all. Perhaps that lesson should include that the same rules apply to what you say about your self…

Personal name-calling isn’t always as blatant as calling oneself stupid. Sometimes, it’s subtle like when you say to yourself “I’m never going to get this right,” “I must be a fool,” “what the hell was I thinking,” or “what is wrong with me.” The words may not sound like name calling but make no doubt about it, the impact these statements have on your psyche are received with the same force as calling yourself a dumb dumb.

The woman I interviewed forgot. She forgot that the power of words applies not only to what you choose to say to others but what you choose to say to your self. Instead of treating herself like a woman of worth, she summoned up her inner bully and beat the crap out of herself!

No story can exist without words (verbalized or internalized). Choose the words you tell in your personal story with care and remember who you really are…

Until next time…

Love and thanks,

Liz

NOTE: no part of this article or any articles on this blog can be used without permission.
©Copyright Liz Pabon, 2010.

Tags: branding maven, bully, change your story, liz pabon, liz pabone, name calling, new york times, oprah, woman of worth

This entry was posted on Friday, June 25th, 2010 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.