Pay Attention to the Words You Habitually Use.

A word of caution: select your words wisely. There are so many ways to describe something, and each one will alter how you feel about it. For example, if you lose your wallet, you probably won't be too happy about it. Imagine telling your friend, "I'm so angry I could tear somebody to shreds!" That would make you angrier than you originally were. Imagine instead that you said, "I'm a little upset about it." You wouldn't feel as bad, would you? So, use less intense words when things upset you. On the other hand, you can use this technique for positive things, too. If you had some great pasta, you could say, "That penne was out of this world!" You'd feel even better than if you had said, "That penne was pretty good." This holds true for any language you're using, too. Remember, the stronger your language, the stronger you feel. Therefore, you should be very careful with the words you habitually use.

言葉選びは慎重に。表現の仕方はさまざまあり、使う言葉で感じ方も変わります。 例えば財布をなくしてうれしい人はいないはず。そこで、友達に「すごく腹が立って、 誰かに八つ当たりしたい!」と言ったら、ますます腹が立ってきませんか。でも、「ちょっとがっかり」なら、そこまでひどい気分にはならないのでは? 何かにイライラしても、激しい言葉を使わないこと。これはポジティブなことにも使えます。おいしいバスタを食べた時、「あのペンネは絶品だった!」と言うほうが、「けっこうおいしかった」よりも気分がいいはずです。この原則はどんな言語にも当てはまります。言葉が強くなるほど感情も強くなります。だからこそ、いつも使う言葉にはくれぐれも気をつけましょう。