Daily Mood Quote - June 1, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 28 – June 1, 2011

 

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”

 ~Napoleon Hill

One of my favorite writers is Napoleon Hill. This quote gives me reason for pause every time I read it, because in my lifetime I have witnessed, been party to and made the mistake of not thinking before speaking. We are in a time where social networking, immediate responses and instant gratification have become the norm. The problem is when we “fire off” our statements before we think them through, the effect, in some cases, can be negative and lifelong. It can affect you, your career, relationships and loved ones, instantly.

Each of us individually has a great power. “The power of words.” I remembered as a child the phrase, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Except words, they do hurt, they hurt everyone, the person you are speaking too, the issue you are speaking about and they hurt you, the speaker. “yes, sticks and stones can break my bones, but they will heal.  Words can hurt and can last a lifetime.” For many of us, words do last a lifetime. Words have the power to initiate peace, or create conflict. To make the world a better place, or much worse. Now, with social networking sites the words we say for the world to see, can be seen all over the world. What you put in cyberspace has a great affect, not just to the person or issue you are speaking about, but on any opportunities you may be seeking, like... a job. I know we may delete what we say, but truly once it is “out there”, it is there forever, and it doesn't matter how many times you hit the “delete” button. Someone somewhere read it before you deleted it, remembered it and pass it along through conversations. There is a concept called, “six degrees of separation” Imagine this recipe, you wrote something negative, someone read it, passed it along, and before you know it, it reaches someone who actually knows or has heard of you, now add some more negative words like, “I hate” or “embarrassed” or adjectives like “stupid” or “ignorant” and you are speaking about a class, social group or culture. The recipe result is disastrous, for you and those around you. As our little green friend Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) said to Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back... “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

I am not a big fan of being politically correct, but I am a fan of honesty and thinking before you speak. I had a college professor drive home the point in a communications class, “It's not what you say, it's how you say it.” When we choose angry and hateful words, we choose to have it come back on us. In an earlier blog (Day Seven, May 11,... I promise to not do many call-backs, but this begged to be restated) the quote was:

"It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
— J. W. Goethe

The simple fact of the matter is, you get what you give. No matter what you call it, the energy you put out there is the energy you will get back. Many would call that karma. My husband calls it balancing the universe.”

What will you think about before you communicate today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading