Ever find yourself saying this or maybe someone has said it to you?
“You’re not the same person anymore, you’ve changed.”
“Wow, how you’ve changed!”
“You’re so grown up!”
“You’ve really grown!”
“Things sure aren’t the same anymore!”
“Thank God they changed!”
Or maybe you’ve heard the social media sayings that help with reflections and comparisons…
“Throw back Thursday (TBT)”
“Flashback Friday”
I thought of these things the other day when my daughter posted a photo collage of four pictures, one representing each year over the last few years, followed with a caption of “Change Much?” She was so excited of how much she has grown and changed over the years…as she should be…but then, why aren’t we all as excited about change?
That’s when it dawned on me. It is just another example of how language is so powerful. In my seminars and upcoming book I teach about the power of language and how to use it to empower ourselves and others to increase more of their own self-confidence to experience more success out of life. Language, as I discuss in my book, is just one ligament of our unconscious, self-confidence muscle, so let’s use these two words as prime examples.
Growth vs. Change
Both words are six letters long, both, by definition reference the developing or transformation either physically, emotionally, or even mentally of people or things, and both can be perceived to be either positive or negative. If you look them up, you will find that “change” can be traced back to Latin, even possibly a Celtic origin, but you have to look up the root word of “Growth or Grow” before you will find a Middle English origin of the word. The usage of “change” is pretty historically equal over time with a little increase in the early 2000’s whereas the word “growth” has a very slow, more gradual increase over the centuries with a large spike in the early 2000’s. Why is this important? In my opinion, as people became more politically correct about what they said and the corporate world became more corporate, I believe some commonly used words, such as “change” became to have a negative stigma attached to them and therefore substituted for more positive sounding words like “growth.” So, is either good or bad?
It is my belief that BOTH of these words are AMAZING! After all, I often tell my clients, “You are either growing or dying, there is no such thing as stagnant!” Think about it…stagnant is a flat line when it comes to professional growth or when reviewing a profit and loss statement in graph form. You wouldn’t think it was necessarily a negative thing per say. But now think what a ‘flat line’ represents in life when it is your personal life…you’ve got it…death, no pulse. So, whether personal or professional, stagnant is not what you want. I choose to live, in both!
So, if you are still wondering about the power of language or, perception in this case…re-read the statements at the beginning of this column. Read them once with a negative or sarcastic tone in your voice, yes out loud as to ensure the proper effect; pretend as though you are in an argument with someone. Now read them again in an exciting, very proud voice as though you are praising a friend, partner, or child. The same words hold two completely different perceptions. One step further, think about the social media references that I have listed or that you have seen others post. People utilize these ‘throwback’ days and posts to reflect back on special moments, events, or people in their lives.
Change and Growth are both positive and are both results in which you should strive to achieve, to be excited for! Take little actions every day to move in a new direction, a better direction, a more successful direction. Then rejoice every time someone tells you that you’ve changed or aren’t the same person anymore!
Cheers to GROWTH & CHANGE!
