When the pants didn’t fit like I expected them to the thoughts that were going through my head were not very nice. They were things like, you are so fat, you are worthless, you will never look good no matter what you do, and on and on. It had an immediate effect on my demeanor. I was depressed, sad, sullen, and didn’t want to look at myself in our bedroom mirror. Now when I realized they were not my pants but my daughters the thoughts that started going through my head were things like, WOW you’ve never fit in a size 6, that’s awesome, you’re looking good, pretty nice after having five kids and other positive thoughts. My countenance immediately brightened and I felt like I could conquer the world!

Words really are powerful! Our family once did an experiment with two quart size canning jars of cooked rice. On one jar we wrote “LOVE” and on the other jar we wrote “HATE”. Everyday we would talk to the jars. We said nice things to the love jar like how happy we were that it was there, we love you, you’re beautiful, etc. With the hate jar we said the exact opposite. As the weeks passed these two jars (which were kept next to each other in the same room and experienced the same temperatures, lighting, etc.) started to look different. The rice in the love jar stayed white and looked like you could still eat it. The rice in the hate jar started turning grey with black spots in it and looked slimy. The only difference was what we were saying to the jars. Pretty amazing, right?

If you want to read some books about this subject look at the work of Masaru Emoto. He did some amazing work with water crystals. When water was exposed to positive language like “thank you” it made beautiful crystals. When it was exposed to negative language like “you fool” it formed incomplete or unrecognizable crystals. If you have a moment type his name into a search engine on the Internet and watch the videos that come up of some of the pictures of these crystals. It is pretty amazing to see. In the prologue of his book “The Hidden Messages in Water,” Masaru Emoto says,

We all know that words have an enormous influence on the way we think and feel, and that things generally go more smoothly when positive words are used. However, up until now we have never been able to physically see the effect of positive words.

Words are an expression of the soul. And the condition of our soul is very likely to have an enormous impact on the water that composes as much as 70 percent of our body, and this impact will in no small way affect our bodies. People who are in good health are also generally in good spirits. Indeed, a healthy spirit most comfortably resides in a healthy body.

Since I have come to realize how important words are and the effect they have on our health I have started using the following question to help evaluate my health – “What is my self talk like?” When I am experiencing healthy self talk I feel better and have more energy. One of my favorite things to do is look into the mirror and while looking directly into my eyes repeating positive mantras or positive affirmations aloud. It is really powerful and is a great way to start out everyday. Give it a try and see if it makes a difference in how you feel. The first step is recognizing when we are participating in negative self talk and stopping it immediately. Then replace those thoughts with at least three positive thoughts about yourself. You can write them down or say them out loud, but take the time to do it and you will start developing a new habit of healthy positive thinking. As you do this you will experience better health and the ability to live your life a little more vibrantly!