Monday Market Update: Powering Into 2025 With Positivity

As 2024 draws to a close and you look back on what you experienced, chances are you had some favorable and not so favorable things happen. Life tends to be a balance of highs and lows, good and bad, right and wrong… you get the idea. But more than that, life isn’t just what happens to us, and what we do about it, but how we approach it. This is where the power of positive – or negative – thinking comes in. And as we approach a new year with a new outlook, we wanted to touch upon what positive language can do for your health, wealth and more. 

Before we launch into how positive language can benefit you and those around you, let’s define what language is. It’s more than words. It’s more than a communication tool. Language is powerful. When you think of language as transformative, influential and intentional – suddenly it’s more than about what you say but the meaning behind it.

A great quote from the professional development corporation ‘Learning Insight’ states that “Words are like lenses; they can either focus on the good or magnify the bad.” When you look at it like that, language does more than convey a message – it shapes a vision. What is your vision for 2025? How can the language you use help that vision come to life? 

First, let’s talk about the research-proven psychological phenomena of negativity bias – which is the reality that humans tend to think about negative things more than positive ones. The things we think about become the things we talk about, thus it’s easy to get into a cycle of negative thought and language patterns. Yet with intention, we can change that!

The Center For Collaborative Awareness has revealed how the words you choose to use can literally change your brain. Studies have shown that adults who wrote down 3 things that went well each day experienced higher levels of happiness, lower levels of depression and improved overall well-being and functionality in three months. 

In fact, as we are sitting down to write this blog – the studies proving the power of positivity are countless. Benefits of positive language include but are not limited to: 

- Improved self-perception and social cognition 

- Enhanced resilience, problem-solving & adaptability 

- Improved performance (both at work and in personal goals) 

- Better relationships (professional & personal, even parent/child) – fostering trust, goodwill & cooperation 

- Increased job satisfaction 

- Enhanced creativity 

- Stronger connections with your audience when public speaking 

- Lower stress levels & higher overall well-being 

- Focused strengths-based awareness which can free you from self-limiting beliefs

- Movement towards a growth mindset 

- Happier mood & attitude 

For helpful examples of the differences between positive and negative language and what to say instead of “I can’t", check out this read on Intelligent Change. 

The bottom line is that what you tell yourself and others matters. Words count.  We are not telling you to simply say what you or others want to hear, but to re-frame and re-focus on what message you are sending and why. Who you are shines so much better through clarity.

Imagine what could be in 2025 if we all added a little more positive intention to our words; just the thought of it is music to our ears! 

Cheers to being our best (and most positive!) selves in the new year, 

Bobbi 

Resources Used: The Power of Language; The Power of a Positive Mindset in the Workplace; Positive Language: Shaping perceptions, relationships and outcomes; The Benefits of Positive Language; Speak with Kindness: How Your Words Literally Restructure Your Brain

Bobbi Decker
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Broker Associate, Bobbi Decker & Associates
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