Be careful what you speak. The Power of words

Be Careful What You Speak

Yesterday, I went on a long walk and had an epiphany. Over the years, I’ve started to realize that what I speak, whether I mean it seriously or jokingly, has a way of coming through in my life. Not always in obvious ways, but consistently enough that I can’t ignore it anymore. It’s like the things I say don’t just disappear. They take root. Does this happen to everybody?

Words That Became Reality

When I was younger, I remember saying I wanted a junkyard dog. Something mean. Something that would protect the house and be mean. What I got was the runt of a litter boxer that was aggressive and couldn’t be trusted around people. He wasn’t what I really wanted. He is what I asked for though. After Diesel, I said I wanted something completely different. A sweet, lazy dog. Gentle. Obedient. Easygoing. Happy just being around. We got Penny and she’s exactly that.

Speaking Without Thinking

This didn’t just show up in small things like dogs, it showed up in bigger areas of my life too. Before I was laid off from Wells Fargo, I would say things like:

“F this place.”
“They don’t know what they’re doing.”
“If they want to get rid of me, they’re going to have to pay me to leave.”

Eventually they laid me off. I talked to a former coworker yesterday, and they told me my name has a negative reputation tied to performance issues. At first, I was frustrated. Hurt. Confused.

But when I really sat with it, I couldn’t blame them. Because what I was speaking was eventually showing up in how I worked, how I showed up, and how people experienced me.

Words Shape Direction

Here’s what hit me on that walk. Our words aren’t just expressions—they’re directions. When we speak negatively about something long enough, we start aligning your actions with it. We don’t even realize it, but you begin working toward the very thing we’re saying we don’t want. We’re setting a target, mindset, and creating an outcome.

Rubbing the Lamp

The best way I can describe it is this is speaking is like rubbing a genie’s lamp. You might think you’re just talking. You might think you’re joking. But what if those words are actually requests? What if they’re shaping your reality more than you realize?

That thought hit me hard.

Because if that’s true, then a lot of what we’re experiencing isn’t random. My words have serious meaning.

A Warning Worth Taking Seriously

There’s a verse that says we’ll have to account for our idle words. That has felt abstract for me distant to me. Now it feels real. Idle words aren’t harmless noise. They shape how we think, how we act, what we experience. If we’re not careful, we can create outcomes we never actually intended—just by the way we talk.

Final Thought

I’m starting to realize I need to be more intentional—not just with my actions, but with my words.

To speak with purpose.
To speak with clarity.
To speak with awareness.

What I say today might very well show up tomorrow. From here on out, that means I’m going to start speaking more intentionally about where I want things to go. Especially when it comes to the gym. I’ve asked my wife and kids to hold me accountable and call me out if my words don’t line up with what I say. Since words really do shape direction… then mine need to match the life I’m trying to build.