On 26 Oct 2012, Anthony Robbins posted an article on LinkedIn. It was shared by Horace Tee and was titled “Change Your Words, Change Your Life: The Simplest Tool I Know for Immediately Transforming the Quality of Your Life“.

As I read the article, a few thoughts came to me. One of the main functions of a leader is inspirational motivation. A great part of that motivation depends on whether the leader is able to generate enthusiasm in those around him. And a great part of generating enthusiasm has to do with what we say and how we say it. It’s a little like the character and destiny quote we see so often, but which is so true:

As leaders, we can choose to change our words in order to achieve desired results both in ourselves and in our constituents, or followers. This is an example of altering or strengthening structure in order to support purpose, or function. The way us leaders change our words is through changing our thoughts, or thought patterns. We may be feeling differently from what we eventually say, but we choose to say what we know is right anyway. When this continues, thought patterns and thought habits form. These lead to speech habits and speech patterns. Very often, as Anthony Robbins pointed out in the article, attitudes and feelings change for the better and we advance to a higher plane of existence. As the cycles continue, the new vocabulary becomes so much a part of us that we no longer need to stop to think about what we ought to say and how we should say it. We simply say it, it comes out very well, and our followers are thrilled by the effects of our words. We have just improved the quality of our lives, and of our leadership, by our words. New levels of enthusiasm infuse us, our followers, and the atmosphere of the workplace in general.

Now, what caused us to desire to change our words? Our beliefs and attitudes. If we believe that changing the negative words we use habitually into positive ones will improve our leadership qualities, we will do so in spite of obstacles and difficulties. Having beliefs that are noble and uplifting gives us the necessary volition to do things we would not otherwise attempt. So, as we go about consciously and deliberately changing our negative words, tones, nuances, facial expressions, and all related aspects of communication into positive ones, let us remember the path from thought to destiny. It would certainly help us set our thoughts right!