power of words

Like a champagne bottle, I feel like I’ve been uncorked. Two weeks ago I was released from a j-o-b that didn’t suit my divine purpose.

After 16 years of running my own business—seven of those as a motivational speaker–I was working for someone whose passion and mission seemed to match my own. As I worked with this person for eleven months though, I discovered just how far apart we were on our philosophies, the everyday execution…and even our language.

It was a Team Meeting that helped us both see the light…

My boss had handed us all a copy of a slide from one of our corporate slide show trainings. It had the word “pressure” across the top in deep red. Under that was a black line across the page that represents “you.” Under that line were bunches of white dots which reminded me of little atoms of energy floating beneath the surface. They all sat atop the word “perturbation,” typed bold in blood red. (Let me save you a trip to Dictionary.com. Perturbation is the root word of “perturb,” meaning: 1. throw into confusion or disorder. 2. disturb mentally; agitate.)

The print visually represented one way for someone to “pop” and have a major break-though. That’s one way we help our clients—help give them a new perspective to move the person forward. After all, there’s nothing like a bit of angst to help you look at life differently. But is that the only way?!

When asked what I thought, I said I preferred the word “percolation” to “perturbation.” The emotional state of “perturbation” was uncomfortable and– I was cut off. Interruptions were common in our office. I was told that was the language we used in our office and culture. When I shut my mouth and deferred, he pressed me to share my opinion.

So the speaker in me, the spirit in me, the person who has studied language and how to use words to inspire, encourage, and motivate people since she was 15 yrs. old, shared her opinion.

Our words create our worlds, I began, and when we use words with negative energy patterns anchored to them, we feel negativity. Confusion, sadness, anger, anxiety are all words that can be associated with “perturbation.”

“Percolation” is the same energy movement as “perturbation” without the negative emotions attached to it. To percolate—like a coffee pot—is neutral. And for some of us even, a percolating pot of coffee summons up good memories and feelings. Energy is still moving behind the scenes, under the line, inside, causing us to grow.

People can have major breakthroughs in their life in moments of great joy as well as pain, I went on to explain to the Team. We create our working environment, our lives, and our worlds by the language that we use. I preferred the positive word.

The meeting ended and an hour later I was fired for “differing philosophies.”

No more “perturbation” for me.

And actually what’s been percolating in me for months now has been shaken to the core. But the coffee has turned to champagne and I’m fizzy, effervescent, bubbling, and sparkling like the Almond Champagne I recently sampled–positive that what I just came through was a breakthrough—of the uncorked kind.