Have you ever heard the song “Kill A Word” by Eric Church? Here is a verse from the song:
“If I could kill a word and watch it die
I'd poison never, shoot goodbye
Beat regret when I felt I had the nerve
Yeah, I'd pound fear to a pile of sand
Choke lonely out with my bare hands
I'd hang hate so that it can't be heard
If I could only kill a word”
If you could ‘kill a word’, which word would you choose?
Every time I hear the song “Kill A Word”, it makes me wonder which word I would choose. Can I only choose one? Can I choose multiple words? Does the word I choose depend on my mood? There are so many factors that go into this decision. In reality, there are many words that I would like to not exist when I am thinking about my photography business, like can’t.
When I think about the ways that I could help others by using my photography and compassion for people, I get really excited. Like really, really excited. Then, as I think most of us do, we turn to social media. What happens when you start scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media platform and constantly see images or content that makes you feel small? I do, most days. I always wonder why I do this, maybe out of bad habit, but it always starts to make me think that my own dreams will never turn out like theirs, that I can’t make it in this creative world because I am not creative enough. I would put the word *Can’t* in a bag and let it slowly sink to the bottom of the ocean.
It is important to recognize which words in our mental vocabulary bring us down, which ones make us turn from excited to indifferent or from hopeful to uncertainty. What words are you saying to yourself? If you need to, personify those words. Think of that bad word coming to your door and ringing your doorbell. Acknowledge that it is there, and then slowly close the door on that word. This is exactly what I do when I need to get rid of a word or a negative thought, I visualize myself closing the door on it. It does not belong in your house. It does not belong in your thoughts, because you are strong, brave, and a creative entrepreneur with so much to offer! I would throw fear as far as I could, put a fence around it, and not let it come near me.
I would pouch doubt in the face. Which word would you choose to get rid of? How will you leave it behind and leave it out of your creative business vocabulary?
Find a mental metaphor for getting rid of your self-doubt. Maybe you take your bad words for a boat ride and they don’t come back. Maybe you turn them into zombie words that you keep in a cage. Maybe you kick them to space, never to return. Whatever your method is, you can always adjust and rewrite the words to your story. I would drag comparison to a dessert and let it sit there for the rest of its life, far away from me.
We all have gifts and talents, and more importantly, we cannot compare ours to others’ because we are all unique and different. We all have something special to bring to the world. To practice getting rid of these terrible, negative words, create a way to kill those words. What will you do to keep them from getting into your thoughts so that you can spend more time on the things that will make you happy? Choose words to help you reach your goals instead of sitting and letting time, literally, go by, wondering when it will be our turn. Our turn is now. You can do this.
Let good words into your mental house! Open that door wide to more opportunities that will help you and others. I would stop inadequate at my front porch, make it turn around, and wave goodbye to it as I invite in self-love, support, and determination.
