Sparkles, glory and magic are power words!  Words truly do have power and impact if you let them.  Over the past few years I’ve read a lot about power words.  I was extremely skeptical at first, as I often am, but was pleasantly shocked just as I once was about intentional thoughts.  If you let them, they will actually empower you.  You just have to open your mind and have a little faith.  This is coming from the person that claims to be a realist, and only takes stock in things that I can see or prove. 

Years of writing and reading psychology articles I’d heard them referred to before as, “words that trigger a psychological or emotional response.”  However, I had never applied them directly in life.  After reading Kara Goucher’s “Strong” a book that breaks down ways to develop running confidence and zero in on strengths, weaknesses and building from it I found an exercise that utilized power words.  I applied it.

Okay….So How Are ” Power Wordd” Applicable?

Essentially you write down a bunch of words that come to mind.  Words that motivate you, speak to you, or you want to reflect you.  A few for me were:  “Redemption, Believe, Strength, and Hope.”  All things I felt or wanted to reflect my progress.  I narrowed it down to one at a certain point last summer during training and then out of nowhere I realized my focus had switched to “relentless” and it became my power word for most of 2018.  I kept it in my mind during my runs, I kept it in my mind during exercises, yoga, work, and everything that I did.  It became a part of my life and gave me strength to push through all the obstacles that I faced later that year and there were plenty.

This is just taking intentional thoughts a step further and focusing specifically on something you want to believe or something true about you.  Consciously or subconsciously you start to live the word and it becomes a part of you.  Sure, if you’re lactose intolerant you may want to avoid all the cheese here, but I’ll go with the super cereal option and recommend giving it a go yourself.  Use power words.