A Word Upgrade
Hello everyone and welcome to day 22 of NaBloPoMo! Lately I’ve been thinking about how powerful words are… how the simple act of using one word rather than another can change everyone’s mood in a moment. A couple different times lately when I’ve asked someone, “How are you?” they answered, “Fantastic!” I noticed that hearing the word “fantastic” gave me a little jolt of pleasure. Either the person was extremely happy in that moment, or they had made the conscious decision to spread positivity (I suspect the latter, because in one of the instances it was the person taking my order at Chipotle, and I don’t imagine that’s a job that sparks spontaneous joy.) Either way, I’m trying to incorporate “fantastic” into my vocabulary. And another word I’ve been embracing is “perfect.” To start with, I use it every time I do a massage. At some point in the massage, I ask the client to turn over. They also have to slide down to a slightly different position on the table, and you’d be surprised how difficult this is for people. They drag half the blanket with them, they frequently end up diagonal or way over to one side of the table. Some people have trouble turning over at all. When they’re finally turned they’ll usually say “Am I okay?” and (if they’re anywhere near the position I want them in) I’ll respond “You’re perfect!” Again, it’s funny what a little jolt of pleasure that gives me. I think it makes the client feel good as well- sometimes people will respond happily, “Oh! Good.” Sometimes they’ll even say “Oh, I’m perfect!” I could have said “you’re fine.” But why say “fine” when you could upgrade it to “perfect?” A third word I’ve been trying to incorporate is “astounding.” This one is a little more difficult. My Peloton yoga teacher used it the other day. He was explaining different ways you could modify a difficult pose- basically he was saying to do it in whatever degree you’re capable, but if you’re able to do the entire pose, “astounding!” I thought, ooh! I want to be astounding! And I want to use that word! The definition of astounding is “surprisingly impressive or notable” so it’s a little harder to insert into an ordinary day- I can’t really tell the Starbucks barista that my drink is astounding, or tell my client that they’ve turned over “astoundingly” without sounding like a kook. But I’m trying. What about you? Do you have certain words that you love to use? Have you ever noticed someone using a certain word and the effect it had on you? Have an astounding (heh heh!) day!