Transformational Vocabulary by Anthony Robbins

Did you know that the English language contains some 750,000 words? Yet the average person’s working vocabulary consists of 2,000 – 10,000. Put another way, the average person uses from 0.5 to 1.5 per cent of the words at his disposal. With such amazing resources with which to express our feelings and ideas, why should people accept such an impoverished vocabulary?

William Shakespeare used over 24,000 words and, when none would suffice, created his own, many of which remain in usage today.The power of words to shape our individual realities is tremendous. We need carefully to evaluate our own usage of,words and consistently aspire to elevate and improve our vocabulary. We should use words that constantly empower us to think in terms of positivity and excellence.

We Are What We Say
Linguists say that, culturally, we shape and are shaped by our language. Have you ever noticed yourself adopt the habitual vocabulary of someone you associate closely with or admire? Interestingly

Transformational vocabulary is the conscious use of specially- chosen words and phrases to intensify or diminish any emotional state, positive or negative.

Transforming our habitual vocabulary breaks unresourceful patterns, produces totally different feelings, changes our emotional state and allows us to think in a more qualitative and elevated way.

We cause problems for ourselves when we start habitually using words like furious and humiliated. We must consciously evaluate the impact of words we use on our emotional state or we risk creating more emotional pain than is necessary.

simply by changing your habitual vocabulary—the words you consistently use to describe the emotions of your life—you can instantaneously change how you think, how you feel, and how you live. This is the power of what I now call

Transformational Vocabulary—consciously using your words to empower your life.

How does this work?

Imagine that your five senses funnel a series of sensations toyour brain. You are getting visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and gustatory stimuli, and they are all translated by your sense organs into internal sensations.But how do we know what these images, sounds, and sensations mean? One of the most powerful ways to quickly decide what sensations mean (pain or pleasure?) is to create the labels for them, and these labels are what we know as “words.”However, in our need to make decisions quickly, instead of using all of the words available and finding the most appropriate and accurate description, we form habitual favorites—molds that shape and transform our life experience.

The words we choose—like “depressed,” “humiliated,” “insecure”—may not accurately reflect the actual experience, but the moment we use the word, that label becomes our experience!

For example, several years ago in a business meeting, I received some ratherupsetting news: someone with whom we were negotiating had violated the integrity of our understanding. While this angered and upset me, I couldn’t help but notice how differently the two people sitting next to me responded to the same information. One gentleman was “enraged,” “furious”—his face wasbeet red and he was totally out of control. Another friend seemed hardly moved. When I asked him, “You don’t seem to be upset by this. Aren’t you angry?” He said, “Well, I’m a little peeved. But it’s not worth being upset over.”Now, all three of us had an equal stake in the negotiations, so we should have been impacted equally. How could we respond in such radically different ways?

As I pondered this, I noticed we had all used completely different words to describe the same experience. I was“angry” and “upset,” one man was“furious” and “enraged,” and my friend was “a little peeved.” Peeved? I thought this was the stupidest word I’d ever heard! I would never use such a word to describe my emotions. But then I began to wonder, “What if I used the word ‘peeved’ to describe my emotions? How would I begin to feel?” For fun, I decided to give it shot. I got my first opportunity after a long night flight. I arrived at my hotel physically and emotionally exhausted, and stood at the front desk for 20 minutes while the clerk searched for my name in the computer at a pace that would make a snail impatient! I felt myself getting angry, so I said to the clerk, “I know this isn’t your fault, but right now I’m exhausted and I need to get to my room because I feel myself getting a bit peeved.” The clerk looked at me perplexedly and then broke a smile. I smiled back; my pattern was broken. The emotional volcano that had been building up inside of me instantly cooled. Could just putting a new label on sensations be enough to break my pattern and truly change my experience? Could it really be that easy? What a concept! word “peeved” over and over again,and I found that it immediately lowered my emotional intensity.Within two weeks, it became my first choice in describing my emotions, and found myself no longer getting into extremely angry states at all. By changing my habitual vocabulary, I was transforming my experience.

If we want to change our lives and shape our destiny, we need to consciously select the words we’re going to use, and we need to constantly strive to expand our level of choice.

Transformational Vocabulary gives us the power to change our experience in life by taking the most negative feelings in our lives and lowering their intensity to the point where they no longer bother us, and taking the most positive experiences and moving them to even greater heights of pleasure.

At this point you may be saying, “This is just semantics, isn’t it? What differenc does it make to play with words?” If all you do is change the words, then the experience does not change. But if using the word causes you to break your habitual emotional patterns, then everything changes. Effectively using

Transformational Vocabulary—vocabulary that transforms our emotional experience—breaks unresourceful patterns, makes us smile, produces totally different feelings, changes our state, and allows us to ask more intelligent questions. It’s so simple: the minute you use it, it can immediately increase thequality of your life.

What would your life be like if you could take all your negative emotions and lower their intensity? Or if you could take your most positive emotions and intensify them? Try it right now—write down three words you currently use on a regular basis to make yourself feel lousy (like bored, frustrated, disappointed,angry, humiliated, hurt, sad, etc.).

Then have some fun. Put yourself in a crazy and outrageous state and brainstorm some new words that you could use to either break your pattern or at least lower your emotional intensity in some way. What would happen if instead of saying you feel “humiliated” you began to describe your experience as “a little uncomfortable”? Pick a word that you’ll want to use in place of the old, limitione.

Here are some examples:
Depressed . . . to . . . A Little Down
Disappointed . . . to . . . Under
Lonely . . . to . . . Open for Love
Exhausted . . . to . . . Recharging
Failure . . . to . . . Learning
Frustrated . . . to . . . Fascinated
I Hate . . . to . . .I Prefer
Overloaded . . . to . . . Stretching
Sad . . . to . . . Quiet
Terrible . . . to . . .Different

Transformational Vocabulary also allows you to powerfully intensify your experience of positive emotions. When someone asks how you’re doing, instead of saying “Okay” or “So-so,” knock their socks off by exclaiming, “I feel spectacular"

The three words you use to describe how you’re feeling on a regular basis that are“just okay”—“I’m feeling off,” “I’m fine,” “All right.” Then come up with new ones that will absolutely inspire you.

Here are some fun, empowering suggestions:
All Right . . . to . . . Superb
Determined . . . to . . Unstoppable
Excited . . . to . . . Ecstatic
Fine . . . to . . . Awesome
Good . . . to . . . Dynamite
Happy . . . to . . . Stoked
Interested . . . to . . . Enthralled
Okay . . . to . . . Perfect!
Resourceful . . . to . . . Brilliant
Smart . . . to . . . Gifted
Terrific . . . to . . . Ecstatic

Now it’s your chance. Take control. Notice the words you habitually use, and replace them with ones that empower you. But start today. Write down your words, make your commitment, follow though, and discover what the incredible power of Transformational Vocabulary can accomplish.