Feel sad? Feel bad? Feel mad? Then consider this. "The words we attach to our experience, become our experience." If you find yourself saying, "Nope, that's goofy thinking. Things happen that are sometimes good, sometimes bad. I react to the experience based on whether it is good or bad," you are not alone. But let me ask you this. Have you ever had an experience with someone where the person you were with described it differently than you did? The event you experienced was the same but for some reason their feeling about it was different. What was it that made them interpret the same situation differently? Maybe you think it was their attitude. And I would agree with you, except that something must first define that attitude. What creates attitude? What makes someone happy, sad or mad?
"Abracadabra!" is a term used by magicians and of course Aladdin. I remember growing up and hearing it as the magician swept his cape away with a flourish to revel something very cool that wasn't there before. Abracadabra is a power word that communicates the idea of making something from nothing. In Aladdin it created the entrance to a cave of treasure where no entrance previously existed. Did you know that Abracadabra is an Arabic word that literally translates, "I will create as I speak."?
There was a mining cave in that took place a couple of years ago. Several miners were alive but trapped under tons of rock. It was going to take several days to reach them as rescuers had to dig a new shaft. There was no light other than the glow from a watch one of the miners was wearing. No food, no water, no light, limited air, lots of fear. This was the experience all the miners found themselves sharing. The miner with the watch decided to change the experience by changing reality. He did it with words. He had the watch so it was his job to keep track of how long they had been buried alive in the dark. As time passed and tension grew, he used words to alter the situation for the miners by reporting less time than had actually passed. When the miners were rescued several days later, everyone was alive, except for the miner with the watch. He was able to use words to change the reality of despair, to one of hope for those around him and it saved their lives. Unfortunately he didn't reword his own experience and instead died knowing that too much time had passed for rescuers to find them before air ran out.
Same situation, different interpretation. The miner with the watch created more positive attitudes calming fears and inspiring hope by using words that changed the experience. His words literally saved lives.
Words are your super power. A power we easily dismiss without regard to how it can influence our mood. Want to feel happy? Use your super power.
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