Why Do the Words We Choose to Use Matter At All?

Because the words we choose can convey and take on many different meanings.

Actions speak louder than words. That’s the truth. Someone can tell you constantly how much they love and care for you and will protect you – but when they do some action that is unkind and hurts you – that’s the truth.

As a writer that you are not personally interacting with – my words are more or less all you have of me. My actions are only visible if you know me, interact one-on-one with me in some way, or read another’s take on something I did or didn’t do.

So, while actions are louder than words – the words we choose to use matter. Why? Because words are powerful.

All you need to do is look at the media and politicians. Both are very conscious of what words they choose. Some words are used to put ideas and images in your head, while others are meant to soften a hard truth. Hence why you read or hear them say “misdirected” rather than “lied”, “sexually assaulted” rather than “raped”, “alt-right” rather than “terrorists”, and the like.

The words you choose matter because the idea you are desiring to convey is tied to them directly. When you choose poorly, your message gets muddied, misunderstood, and even lost.

This applies to all forms of words – written, spoken, even thought.

Words in all formats

Consciousness creates reality. Thus, if you are not conscious of what you are thinking – there might be words getting into your subconscious that disempower you.

When not being consciously aware, we can easily find ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually somewhere we’d rather not be. That’s why the words we choose to use matter even in thought.

I believe that the two most powerful words in the English language are “I AM.” Why? Because whatever follows these words is a creator. Consciously or subconsciously.

When you get drawn into believing that there is lack, scarcity, and not enough, and then start thinking – I am broke, I am lacking, I am not doing enough, I am not enough, and the like – you disempower yourself. You’ve just created all these potential realities that I’m sure you’d not consciously desire to be created.

When you are working with conscious awareness, you can redirect what follows I AM. Seeing potential, possibility, and abundance when you start thinking – I am growing, I am learning, I am abundant, I am doing enough, I am more than enough, and the like – you empower yourself.

I can’t control your thoughts, feelings, actions, or intentions – just as you cannot control mine. However, as a writer – I can still implant words into your mind that can empower or disempower.

But that’s wholly dependent on you and if you are being conscious or living subconsciously.

The words we choose matter – whether we write them or speak them, share them, or keep them to ourselves. They have a huge amount of power. Mindfulness of this can massively impact the life experiences of ourselves and others.

The words we choose to use matter

How do you feel when someone uses a lot of obscure, overly-fluffy, or unnecessarily complex words? In some contexts, that’s apropos. But in others, it will matter impact-wise.

Words matter because of how they address an intended audience. You get to choose – written or spoken – if your words are targeted to a narrow audience or a broader one. Is there a hidden message in the words you choose to someone specific?

Certain politicians do this frequently. Tiny, seemingly innocuous words and phrases appear in what they write and say to appeal to a specific base – such as groups that might be deplorable like white-supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the like.

My use of the words “seemingly innocuous” was a choice. Why? Because it’s a more powerful phrase than harmless or inoffensive. I desired the more powerful and illustrative word over these softer options.

But in choosing this – I recognize that I have also created a limitation in whom I speak to. Not everyone knows the meaning of innocuous. But the nature of the idea I am working to convey is not something I care to dumb down, and that is what alternatives to innocuous amount to.

By doing so – I make myself a target. Some might argue my choice of words is elitist. Ableist. Because I am not making the effort to express the idea at a 4^th-grade reading level versus an 8^th -grade one (which is a guess and not known fact, FYI).

Shared or for ourselves – the words we choose matter because of the pictures they paint, ideas they convey, and potential for impact. They can make all the difference in what kind of experience you are having or are intent on sharing.

The words we choose matter to all communication

Whether I am writing fiction, nonfiction, or something for business (web content, blogs, copy, etc.) – the words I choose matter.

For my sci-fi and fantasy stories, I have made very specific choices. I’ve invented words for names, places, days, currency, and what-have-you. I’ve also chosen to sometimes apply words in other languages because they read more powerfully than words in English.

For example – rather than “tremble”, I once used “tremere” (Latin). In my Forgotten Fodder series, my characters have cursed in both Hindi and Chinese (because I figured 550 years in the future, given the populations of China and India, it’s highly probable).

When I write these articles – and those about mindfulness, conscious reality creation, positivity, wellness, and the like – I choose my words with care. There are specific messages I strive to convey. Because the words we use matter, I choose with care to present the intended message.

That’s why, for example, I usually replace the negative-centric “want” with the more positive-centric “desire”.

Even when we think/talk to ourselves, the words we choose matter. They impact our mindset/headspace/psyche, and the bridge between consciousness, ego, and subconsciousness.

The words we choose matter to all communication because the words we choose can take many different meanings. Intent matters – and goes into mindfulness behind what’s said and thought. For the clearest, best-intended messages, recognizing how the words we choose to use matter can impact all aspects of our lives and interaction with the world both within ourselves and without.

In the words of Toltec teacher and author Don Miguel Ruiz,

“Your word is the power that you have to create; it is a gift.”

Words we use matter because they can convey kindness or cruelty, compassion or entitlement, empathy or discord – and everything in-between both within and without.