Words Matter: 20 Years Ago I Said This...

Ding. Ding. 

"Hmmm, I think it's my facebook messenger alert."

Checks phone. 

A friend from high school sent me an inbox message, with a bit of a disclaimer. He told me that something that I said to him in high school resurfaced in his life, but this time, in his professional world - and wondered if I could give him a call.

I did. 

Beyond the usual "like", "congrats" or "great photo" on social media, our last talks concluded after we graduated from high school almost 20 years ago. We were good friends back then, but as life would have it, we both moved to different states for college. 

Back to our call. 

To make a long story short, he said that a colleague mentioned something to him that was almost verbatim to an observation I shared years ago. We talked about why that was showing up in his life again. He and I also had a chance to briefly catch up about our current life. 

Nonetheless, the part of our conversation that humbled and forced me to take a greater look at the words that I share with others was when he said, "Yes, we were in Science and you told me that you thought I....and I never forgot your words. Never."

He remembered the environment, where we were, who was there and the positive words that we shared. I can't help but wonder to myself, "Maybe not in this case, but could everyone that I've encountered remember kind words from me?"

Words have the ability to empower, sting, hurt, uplift, break through, etc. Moreover, for better or for worse, words tend to stay with us. 

What about you? How are you showing up in the world through your words, the language that you use and the manner in which you converse with everyone that encounter you? At the end of the day, what experience do you offer to the world? 

Today, I'll walk a little taller - a bit more AWARE of how/why I show up through my vocabulary, because...WORDS MATTER.