The words we use within ourselves and with others matter. Recognising how these words make us feel and understanding what we can do to flip them in a positive way is extremely important. Lisa Gumieniuk, mental health expert and practitioner is fond of a powerful exercise using the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to demonstrate this. Give this awesome word exercise below a go yourself.
The following two-word exercise is a tool you can do by yourself but is much more beneficial and effective if done with a partner. So, feel free to join in!
- Close your eyes.
- Have yourself listen to the following word said aloud on repeat. Notice what your mind and body is doing, what you are thinking and how you react.
- The word is no. Repeat it 5 or so times.
- When you are ready, open your eyes.
- Ask yourself, what thoughts came up? How did it feel? How did your body react?
When Lisa asked Victoria, the co-founder of SuperFastDiet she said, “I felt like I was being told off as a child. As the no’s continued, it felt even more intense. I could feel some anxiety at the top of my chest and it really wasn’t a pleasant feeling.”
Now try this again with a different word:
- Close your eyes.
- Have yourself listen to the following word said aloud on repeat. Notice what your mind and body is doing, what you are thinking and how you react.
- The word is yes. Repeat it 5 or so times.
- Open your eyes.
- Ask yourself, what thoughts came up? How did it feel? How did your body react?
Victoria said, “That was way better,” with a big smile on her face, “I could feel positive energy around me, and it was happy energy. It was exciting to hear. It made me think ‘I can do this’.”
Victoria felt the complete opposite hearing the word yes, compared to hearing the word no on repeat. This exercise clearly and simply demonstrates that even the most basic and common words, like yes and no can have a huge impact on our thoughts, our feelings and how our body works and reacts.
When we talk about mental health, it has so many aspects and deep layers. Lisa says, “the language that we use really can be the foundation of these layers, both when talking to yourself and when talking to others.”
This exercise confirms that being positive is an awareness. We know the power of words after giving this a go. The conversations and interactions you have everyday matter. Especially the conversation you have with yourself. It is easy to go to a negative place when talking to yourself using negative connotations like ‘I can’t do this’, ‘this is hard’, ‘I am awful at this’. Essentially these are ‘no’ words that are holding you back, mentally and physically.
Try talking positively to yourself and noticing these changes in your mind and body with this basic technique that is extremely revealing and powerful. Just say yes!
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