Action and inaction are choices. To choose how to think, however, is something that is hard to concretize – for whatever one thinks, he is the only who knows it. Words, on the other hand, are thoughts in action. It means that words that are spoken, by the mere meaning of the base of the verb “spoken”, which is the action word “speak”, are actually an action completed. If action and inaction are choices, then the freewill lies within the speaker. If this is so, the speaker can practice to choose the words he will enact or speak.
That is the premise of the use of positive language. To use positive language, one has to have the gift of freewill. The good news is that everyone is gifted with it. To exercise freewill means to be in control of our choices, to be in control of our actions, to be in control of our words.
Our words are a powerful tool. It can build but it can also destroy. It builds when it encourages, supports, and inspires, but it destroys when it gripes, gossips, and groans (3G’s – I heard this from Teacher Joy). To add to these 3G’s are the 3C’s – criticize, condemn, and complain.
If walking the talk means to act the talk, let the first action be thru our speech. Let the first action be thru our words so that we may become good influence to those who surround us and so that we can slowly open the gate that leads to growth and positive change. To practice this, we can also keep in mind what John Maxwell calls the 3A’s – attention, appreciation, and affirmation.
Teachers are leaders. They should walk the talk. To walk the talk, we can start with our (positive) talk be it inside the school or outside. Nobody says that this new practice is easy but it’s worth the try. We can only consciously put an effort to wear a positive lens to actively look at any situation positively until it becomes automatic, until it becomes a habit. J
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