Rudyard Kipling said “words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Absolutely! And we’ve only just begun to truly recognise their real power, particularly when it’s used as a form of control.
Of course there are professions, such as advertising, that unashamedly use the power of words to change our state.
But personally we still seem to accept the old adage that words can never harm us.
We still believe that it’s tangible things that have the real power.
We’re swayed by the illusion of ‘stuff’, of facts and figures, data, visible evidence.
Even when the tangible is nonsense, it somehow seems more ‘real’ to us.
And so we remain susceptible to the damaging effects of the most powerful of drugs.
When others ‘spike’ us with words, we don’t even realise.
We may feel a pinprick, but we tell ourselves that it’s not that important.
We even unthinkingly administer the drug to ourselves.
And to others. People we care about.
We may be users and pedlars, and we don’t even know it.
Is this a habit you want?
By listening to the words you use – particularly the habitual ones – and considering the effect they have, you can stop being involved in this racket.
And by listening to the words that others use, you’ll recognise the dealers you’d prefer to stay away from.
It takes a concerted effort to kick any habit.
But it starts with a very simple choice.
And has a transformational impact.
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