Win the World with the Power of Your Tongue

This post is also available in: Hindi Marathi

Our tongue has the power to win the world if we train it to always make use of positive and pleasant words, also reducing its indulgence in tasty foods at the same time. This may sound like an overstatement or too simplistic a formula for so great a goal but it is true nonetheless. We can achieve anything with a tongue that speaks sweet words and is indifferent to taste. This begins with the habit of always using positive words in any conversation.

Contemplate the following questions to make the best use of the tongue:

Which words affect me the most?
What kind of words do I tend to use during a conversation?
What effect do my words have on people? Do they make them happy? Or sad?
What steps can I take to free myself from the effect of negative words?
Does my over-indulgence in taste make me lie or make a drama out of situations?
Have I experienced the power of the tongue?
What understanding can give me the confidence that I can achieve anything in the world?

Contemplating these questions will bring to light the various dimensions of the power of the tongue. Your mind needs to believe in the miracles of the power of the tongue, only then will it be able to harness it well. Believe that you can win the world with your words; and for this to happen, you must take responsibility for your own peace and happiness.

One may disagree to this, “My brother doesn’t treat me well, and he abuses me all the time. My spouse fights with me over trivial matters. My friends don’t treat me well. How can I be happy?!”

Such thoughts naturally make us feel sad. But by thinking so, we hand over the responsibility of our happiness to others; we hand the remote control of our peace to others. However, as we understand this topic, we have to take back the responsibility for our happiness.

“But, how can I be responsible for my own happiness?! How can I make myself happy in spite of how I am being treated by others?!”

We may feel unsure or confused but we need to have faith that there really is a 100% possibility of acquiring whatever we desire in the world, once we master our tongue.

The Right Aim for the Tongue

All that’s needed is small a change: Train your tongue to be indifferent to things that it feels enthusiastic about and be enthusiastic about things that it was indifferent to.

In other words, train your tongue to be indifferent to taste – something that it has been enthusiastic about so far; and to be enthusiastic about positive words – something that it has been indifferent about!

This small change can bring about miracles in your life. A lot of people indulge so much in the culinary pleasures of the tongue that it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are living to eat. They forget that food is meant for life and not the other way round! On the other hand, they are indifferent and unaware of the words they speak.

In short, we have to rid ourselves of both the extremes and become indifferent about taste and pay heed to our words. Initially, we may find it difficult to make this change but we need to stick to it with continued contemplation. We need to contemplate deeply to understand which words influence our life?

We tend to obtrude our words on others while getting deeply affected by the words others speak. Even a strong person can lead the life of a weakling under the influence of negative words. He becomes a slave to his senses and lives a dejected life.

Some tribal communities shoot poisoned darts at their enemies to kill them. To shoot these poisoned darts, they blow into a short hollow pipe. Negative words that we speak are like these darts. They have the potential to harm people; even kill them. Hence, we must be very careful about the words we use.

Suppose someone tells you, “You look unwell today!”. The more you dwell on that thought and those words, the more unwell you start feeling. Selective hearing is when someone chooses to concentrate only on a certain part of everything that is heard. You may have heard this term expressed in complains, as in, “He does selective hearing… He only hears what is beneficial to him!” However, if developed consciously and carefully, selective hearing can be a great boon. In this process, we train our ears to only concentrate on positive words. This is important because what we hear percolates into our subconscious mind and takes deep roots. By training ourselves to hear only positive words, we make sure only positivity finds its way into our subconscious mind.

Human beings are blessed with the power of speech. However, with great power comes great responsibility. Our choice of words can raise or diminish someone’s level of consciousness and affect their life in ways that we cannot imagine. A person who always chooses negative words has no idea how depressing his words can make others feel.

Let us hence resolve to choose to speak and hear the right words—positive words—in every conversation. Let this habit take root in our subconscious mind and become second nature to us. This is how we can win the world, achieve just about anything we desire in life and become the architect of a happy, peaceful, and successful life.