What's in a word?

I was speaking to my friend Angela the other day, and she was telling me she had a breakthrough around comparing herself to others. She realised she was continuously comparing herself to her peers, and she felt insecure about her 'lack of ambition.' It's funny, because I know Angela very well, and I would never consider her to be unambitious. I asked her what she meant by ambition and she said, 'the ability to work until 12pm every night, like other people I know, because I am so dedicated to something.'

I am a huge believer in personal development. I think it's of upmost importance, and a big part of our identity and thoughts is the words we use. It's important to deconstruct the words we use, so we can get to the deeper cause of our feelings. The more complex our vocabulary is, the more nuanced our expressions of ourselves can be.

Source: http://b2bmarketingsmarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Words.jpg

When I asked Angela to define what ambition meant to her, it gave me insight into her thought chain. She was feeling insecure because her peers have thrown themselves into their careers, and appear dedicated by working long hours. Angela felt like she was failing because not only was she not doing this, but she also was not motivated to work long hours. By comparing the hours she worked to their hours, she felt like she was a less ambitious person. This led to an insecurity around her job, and lack of goals in her life.

By questioning her use of words, I was able to get a fuller picture of her insecurity. Following this, we were then able to have a very rich and helpful conversation around the idea of ambition. This led to resolution on Angela's side, and understanding in mine.

It's important to question the words you use. Our communication and thoughts rely on language. Know the words you use, and you will know yourself.

Source: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-love-words.png