How words shape our reality

​Words matter.

Words stimulate us emotionally and or mentally which then moves us into action.

How you say things, influence's other peoples reactions to what you are saying.

John has arthritis.
John has a stiff knee.

Two different statements. Both of which could simultaneously be true.

Yet, they likely conjure up different thoughts.

The word 'arthritis' means having a condition that is chronic. When we think of arthritis we think of a permanent condition that will cause pain and possibly reduced range of motion or limitations on mobility.

When you hear that someone has a "stiff knee" on the other hand - this does not tend to conjure up thoughts of a long lasting condition.

Words matter. 

Labels are like words on steroids.

Labels communicate entire stories in an instant. Yet at the same time labels are very limiting because they associate one word with a certain set of parameters.

When we use labels we can get caught in the trap of buying into a story.

What happens when someone is diagnosed with a particular medical condition?

Typically they first want to learn about the condition right? They want to know what to expect so they can prepare for it and plan how to manage it. 

So a person will read about the condition because they have accepted that they in fact have the condition (because the Dr. told them so) and they accept that they could experience a range of symptoms associated with the condition (even though maybe they only have one symptom currently). They are buying into the diagnosis, they are accepting it as their truth and they may begin to change their behaviour in order to prepare for how their condition might worsen. Perhaps they have an expectation that their condition will worsen. This is often influenced by what the Dr. says.

Our minds and bodies are miraculous. We can actually heal ourselves with thought alone and it's not even that unusual or special. 

Can you imagine if you went for surgery to repair arthritis in your knee and later, after you had completely recovered and no longer had any symptoms you discovered that the procedure wasn't completed and the only thing that was done was an incision to make it appear like the surgery had been performed? You don't have to imagine, because this is exactly what happened in a study back in 2002.

This is the placebo effect in action.

Words influence thoughts.
Thoughts create emotions.
Emotional states lead us to perform certain actions.
Actions create results and outcomes in our lives.

Use words consciously and deliberately and you will master your results by default.

#StayCurious