If you think back over your life, you may not need to remember too far back, when you read something that changed you in some way. The words seeped into you and stayed there, your mind recalling them again and again. Perhaps it wasn’t exactly the specific words, but the way they made you feel, the metaphorical fragrance they left behind in your life.
Those life changing words may have been a story that gave you hope again. Or a book that encouraged you to make some big life changes for the better. Or even an article you read during your commute to work, that over the course of the day, stayed with you.
Words that have changed my life recently, have been other people’s stories. Stories that have given me the courage to do what I am doing right now. The courage to write what is in my heart and share it with you. Reading how others have overcome their own self doubt, and self criticism, and gone on to live out the dream within them.
Words have power.
You have probably heard it before, but I want you think about it for a minute. Words. Have. Power.
The Spoken Word.
“Words have a magical power. They can either bring the greatest happiness or the deepest despair.”
– Sigmund Freud
The spoken word has the power to give life, or to tear it down. The words we say can build someone up, encourage, bring hope, joy, and relief at some good news. Words can also destroy relationships, tear down confidence, take away hope, ruin lives and so much worse.
Like me, you have probably heard words that left their mark on your heart, and in the ways you don’t do certain things because you don’t feel capable, worthy or good enough.
Haven’t there also been words that healed those wounds a little? Those words spoken to us in love and truth, that closed the gaping holes and allowed us to see through the lies we believed about ourselves. Didn’t they also hold power?
What about words you speak over yourself? (This is a whole other discussion! I have written about this in a previous blog post, you can read that here.)
The Written Word
“Things spoken can be forgotten and forgiven, but the written word has the power to change the course of history, to alter our lives.”
-Teresa Mummert
Written words can hold even greater power than those spoken. Why? Because or their reach and their permanence.
Words can be printed, distributed, or published online. Written words can be accessed by millions of people over the internet all day every day, through all the various platforms. They can be shared and retweeted, and they can be read and reread at any point in time in all their paper-form glory.
Does it hurt your brain like it does mine, to think of all those words out there, freely roaming the world?
If I were to ask you: ‘What is THE best selling book at the top of the list, every single week?’, would you know the answer? It’s the bible. They don’t put it on the bestselling list, because it’s always at the top, every single week.
The Guinness World Record states “The best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible. It is impossible to know exactly how many copies have been printed in the roughly 1500 years since its contents were standardized, but research conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggests that the total number probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies.”
That’s a lot of bibles and definitely a lot words.
So why is this book so popular? Some reasons are because the foundations of our civilisations are built on it, our laws were written from it’s wisdom, and it gives us wisdom for our own life.
Whether or not you have a faith, if you’ve read the bible, you will know that it is a powerful book. When people read the word of God, often they begin to be transformed. This book has the power to change lives for the better, freeing people from addictions and feeling lost in life, to making them whole, and knowing they have purpose.
There is a bible verse that says, “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energising, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 Amplified Bible.
The bible is so unique, that it’s almost incomparable to any other book that has ever been written. No other book has been described as living and active, with the ability to completely change a person in this way. But, you may have read something that touched the deepest parts of you.
You are what you read.
Whatever it is that you choose to read, whether it’s a good choice of reading material or not, will impact your brain positively or negatively.
In much the same way that food you eat will help or decline your health, (and therefore your life) it is also true of what you let into our mind.
What we allow in when we read, will have an impact on our life.
I love a good crime thriller, or if I’m feeling a little fragile, some well written general fiction will do. But if I want to choose healthy ‘brain food’, I read books that bring me joy, with words that remind me to look up and be grateful, that encourage me to keep being better versions of myself.
I definitely get that when I read the bible, but also some self help books, Christian teaching books, or great blog posts. I try to make good choices with the things I read, because words leave their mark on us.
Reading changes your brain.
Tim Keller and Marcel Just, scientists of Carnegie Mellon University, have found that reading can physically change your brain. In an article written about this it says: “… intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself, creating new white matter that improves communication within the brain.” That is very interesting! (You can read the rest of the article here.)
In another article, by Inc, written by Jessica Stillman , it says: “Reading isn’t just a way to cram facts into your brain. It’s a way to rewire how your brain works in general. It strengthens your ability to imagine alternative paths, remember details, picture detailed scenes, and think through complex problems. In short, reading makes you not just more knowledgeable, but also functionally smarter.” (You can read the full article here.)
This is great news for all the bookworms, if you needed another excuse to curl up with a good book, this is it: it makes your brain cleverer!
The written word for your own life.
“Our words have creative power. With our words, we can speak blessings over our future or we can speak negative things over our future.”
Joel Osteen
The words you speak over your life, have the power to change the direction of it, for better or for worse. Journaling is a powerful and undervalued tool that you can use to cause a positive change in all areas of your life.
Journaling gives you the opportunity to reframe past experiences. By writing them down, you can learn to accept your past choices, seeing where mistakes taught you and made you stronger, and smarter. You can be kind to that younger version of you.
Journaling gives you the chance to shape your future. When you focus on goals and dreams for your future, you look ahead with hope. You find clarity for what you want in life and can map where you want to go, by making the choices that will get you there.
Journaling can be used to speak kind words over yourself and over the person you are becoming. You can choose to write kindly about all the ways you are growing, the things you have overcome, and recognise all your achievements, no matter how small.
I want to share some of the ways journaling has changed my life, and perhaps how it can change yours too:
It has enabled me to get to know myself, this version of me right now, because like you, I am always changing. It has helped me to be true to myself, to be clear on what I want and not be distracted.
For the first time in my life I am reaching goals, and I am so proud of that. Journaling helps me to work out what I long for in life, and plan a way to get there. It allows me to process my thoughts and feelings so they make sense. Journaling taps into my creative brain, and I gather so many great ideas and inspiration within its pages. It gives me hope for my future as I allow myself to dream of what my life can be, and capture those thoughts in words.
Often I am surprised by what comes out when I let my pen do the talking. It’s as though in some way my brain bypasses the rational thought centre and lets my heart flow out onto the page. Words come out in feelings I didn’t even know I had.
There is so much to say about the benefits of keeping a journal. Next week I am taking a deep dive into all the reasons why you are missing out by not keeping a journal. And if you are already keeping one, hopefully it will encourage you to level up and use it to life hack your way to success.
In conclusion:
Be wise in choosing the words you allow into your life, they have the power to change you.
The written word in the form of your journal, is a tool that allows you to dissect our thoughts and feelings, to see into the very heart of who you are. It can speak hope and direction into your future.
Written words, when they are read at the right time by the right person, have the power to change the course of someone life.
Words can be sharp, use them with care, they can be blunt and cause great damage. But they can also be beautiful, bringing healing, restoration and unity. You hold great power within your fingertips, honour that power and use it with much humility and wisdom.
Do one thing today.
You could compose an encouraging email. Or send a thoughtful message. Why not pop a card in the post or even an old fashioned, handwritten letter, to make someone’s day? You could think about sharing your story, or even a brilliant blog post, send off some powerful words of your own.
If you needed a nudge, this could be it. Maybe there are more words in you in the form of a book or articles that can make a big difference out there into the world.
Use the power of your words to love, encourage, build up and even change a life where you can, you never know what might happen as a result.
If you enjoyed this post, let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you! And before you leave would you mind giving it a like, or even sharing it on your pages or with a friend?
Next week come back to check in as we talk more about journaling, I’ll even show you how I use mine! See you soon.
If you want to see what else I’ve written you can find my other links at linktr.ee here or straight to my blog page here.
I am here, to champion your personal growth, encourage your goals, and cheer you on as your reach for your dreams. You can do this.
Sending you love friend,
Carrie xxx
Photo credit :: Shelby Miller / Unsplash / Wordswag
Carrie Baker - The Growth Collective 
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