Words Have Power

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions;
watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character;
watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Lao Tzu

A good martial artist understands words have power. Some ancient Japanese people believed in a concept called kotodama (言霊) or “the mysterious power of words to alter reality.” Furuya Sensei defined kotodama as “word spirit.” I am not an expert on kotodama and this is not a discussion on kotodama, but what I do know is that words have power. Words have potentiality and intentionality and according to an article on icytales.com, “Words are the most potent weapons available to human beings. An individual can choose how to use it, either positively or negatively. Words possess an energy that can heal, help, hurt, or destroy.” In Japanese, they say, bushi ni nigon wa nai (武士に二言は無い) or “A warrior does not have a double tongue.” This is supposed to mean that a person who follows the way of the samurai does not engage in duplicity or acts deceitfully by saying one thing and then doing another. On the surface, this proverb was supposed to mean that a warrior is supposed to live their lives with integrity. Upon deeper reflection, this idea also holds true in how we “speak” to ourselves. What we say to ourselves is much more important than what we say to others. David James Lees said, “Be mindful of your self-talk. It’s a conversation with the universe.” An article on healthline.com, defines self-talk as, “Self-talk is your internal dialogue. It’s influenced by your subconscious mind, and it reveals your thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas.” For the most part, self-talk is conditioned behavior. If we don’t know who we are or what we want to say, we are apt to just say anything or repeat the words of others. Largely, the words that we say to ourselves are so subconsciously ingrained that we don’t even hear them anymore - we just feel their effects. In the dojo, we are supposed to be mindful of our behavior. We are supposed to mind the things we say, do and think. The reason why we are supposed to be mindful is because it is the act of being mindful which creates changes in us. For instance, in the martial arts, it is said rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru (礼に始まり礼に終わる) or “Everything begins and ends with respect.” In the beginning of class we bow and say Onegaishimasu (お願いします) or “please.” At the end of class, we thank all of our training partners. The act of saying please and thank you helps to change our mindsets, and this is one reason why we leave the dojo feeling better than when we came in. This is one way training changes us. We come in self-centered and leave a little less selfish. Ideally, by changing the words we use, we change their charge and thus change how they affect us. The other day, in my daughter’s kindergarten class, the teacher was teaching them the power of “yet.” She said, “Don’t say, ‘I am not good at reading.’ ‘Instead say, I am not good at reading, yet.’” Brilliant! By adding the word “yet” to the end, we change the charge of the sentence and thus change the intentionality. Someone once said, “You can change the course of your life with words.” As a martial artist, we should be mindful of the things we do but more importantly the things we say to ourselves. Farshad Asl said, “Everything you attract into your life is a reflection of the story you believe and keep telling yourself.” The mindfulness we create with our actions, words and thoughts can align us with the universe and that is why a good martial artist understands that words have power.

Today’s goal: “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” - Brent Brown

Watch this video to better understand how self-talk effects us