The Importance Of Words
The importance of words lies, neither more nor less, than in their impact. Have you ever thought about it? Escobar Luján, journalist, international speaker on neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and coaching, explains that the subconscious mind does not recognize “no”.
Frequently, we comment on those words that have impacted us badly, and most of the time we hear from one of our interlocutors: “don’t think about that anymore.” However, it seems that the expr esion only succeeds in producing the opposite effect.
Have you ever thought about a particular word or conversation? Does the “no” have some power that prevents us from moving forward? Actually yes.
The importance of words
According to Venezuelan Institute of NLP , there are words and forms of language that have a direct and negative impact on thought. In addition, the experts explain that the “no” activates in us the disposition of confrontation or a challenging attitude. Surely our parents once told us “ don’t run because you’re going to fall ”, and we did it anyway.
According to the NLP approach, by incorporating the particle “no” into the command, the brain perceives it in a negative way and, therefore, reveals itself and does exactly the opposite.
A little exercise
Close your eyes for a moment and think of a green and sunny meadow. Clever? Okay, now open your eyes and don’t think about it anymore.
And good? Could you stop thinking about your meadow? Probably not. Maybe you wanted to keep adding more details. Or maybe you were curious what the next indication might be.
Faced with the prohibition, the brain continued to “fight” against the command, even if you wanted to try to obey it. For him brain, the command was: Think of the green meadow! completely omitting the “no”.
NLP counts the “no” among its so-called “dangerous or forbidden words”, which are translated, neither more nor less, than in those words that negatively affect thought.
Since the human being is oriented towards the search for pleasure and satisfaction throughout life, dangerous words represent a bias to reach this goal, so it is normal for us to oppose them. In this way, the importance of words can be appreciated.
Dangerous words according to NLP
- Not . As we have already seen, denial causes a reaction opposite to the desired one.
- But. This word overrides a statement made earlier.
- For example: she is a very good person but she hardly ever listens to others.
- Nothing, never, no one, all, none, and so on. Generalizations sabotage our message because they evade all responsibility for what is being asserted.
- For example: me no one tells me nothing it is a double generalization that is often unnecessary since it is an exaggeration in the speech.
- I have to It is a phrase that implies effort and does not sound attractive, pleasant or satisfactory, therefore, it is contrary to our nature. Denotes an obligation. Therefore, people who face the world of work in this way, fail.
- For example: t I think what work 10 hours a day.
- It is that …, because … Like generalizations, justifications only avoid taking responsibility.
That is why NLP tries to make us see those dark areas in which we had not noticed before when preparing the message and sharing it. Thus, the reactions, possible consequences, quality of communication and above all: the impact, the scars and the importance of the words are evaluated.
The message that we try to convey is not always the one that others receive. Therefore, from NLP they tell us that we must be aware of the reactions of others to ensure that the reception of the message has been successful.
What can be done?
Dangerous words can be avoided in a very simple way: paying attention and trying to redirect the language to try that our messages are received successfully. A good tool that could be of help in this would be mindfulness and, of course, perseverance when putting it into practice in different areas of daily life.
Once we have tried, we will realize that our communication and, therefore, our relationships, are much more effective. It will take several attempts, yes, but the important thing is to learn from each one and keep moving forward.
NLP considers that when developing certain messages, taking into account the importance of words and their ability to create different reactions is something that will add quality to communication. So this is worth keeping in mind.
