A young couple got married and went on a cruise for their honeymoon. When they got back home the bride immediately called her mom, who lived three hours away.

“Well, darling,” said her Mom, “How was your honeymoon?”

“It was wonderful, and so romantic. We had a great time,” said the bride, “but as soon as we got home he started using really horrible language. Words I have never heard before. Really horrible four-letter words! You’ve got to come get me…PLEASE.”

The bride began to sob over the phone. “PLEASE, Mom come get me!” she begged.

“But honey what did he say, what 4-letter words, you have to tell me what’s troubling you,” asked her Mom.

Still sobbing the bride said to her mother…”Words like….DUST, IRON, COOK, WASH!”

Will you believe me when I tell you that the majority of decent people, children even, use Four-Letter Words on a daily basis. Many times a day. I love words – they convey many meanings, evoke emotional reactions and shape our reality. This post is about three Four-Letter Words and how using them are not doing anyone any good. Some have FOUR letters and others have less (blogger’s license).

Don’t

We experience the world in terms of our senses – through seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. A word like BAKERY for example – we can see what a bakery looks like, what is sounds like and definitely what it smells like. A word like DON’T is a neutral word – we can’t see it, it has no sound, we can’t smell it or feel it. But most often the word that comes after DON’T is able to be experienced by our senses.

For example – when saying “DON’T drop the ball” – what comes to people’s minds is the part that they can experience with their senses – DROP THE BALL. When a worried Mom says to their child – “DON’T DROP THE BALL!” – chances are that the child is going to do just that – DROP THE BALL – because that is what they can experience. A better thing to say is “WALK CAREFULLY AND HOLD ONTO THE BALL.”

Try

My favourite saying from Yoda is “DO. OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY.”

My experience has been that when someone says “I’LL TRY TO DO IT” – is that they have no intention of doing something. It’s too easy for someone to half-heartedly say that they TRIED to do something when they didn’t. By saying TRY people actually mean NO and are too afraid to say it. Saying TRY is not sincere and honest. Saying NO is more honest. Initially people will not like it but at least they will know where they stand with you – and vice versa. Better to say NO initially than not to do something and then say “I TRIED”.

Diet

DIET carries all sorts of emotional connotations in many people – DEPRIVATION, HUNGER, LOSS (as in LOSING WEIGHT) – who wants to lose anything? I don’t!

So is it any wonder that many people who go on DIETS end up gaining all their weight again – and more!? The language is all wrong!

For someone wanting to slim down, words that paint a better picture are “BECOMING HEALTHIER” and “GAINING SLIMNESS”. I sure want to gain something. I’m sure that you can come up with more.

All the wonder of the young woman’s honeymoon was erased in a single swipe when the words DUST, IRON, COOK, WASH were mentioned. Because of the meaning she associated with those words she probably didn’t hear what her husband said next… He could’ve said “DON’T WORRY HONEY, WE’LL TAKE TURNS – THIS WEEK I’LL DUST, IRON, COOK, and WASH.”

The bride story inspired by http://www.lifesmith.com/jbhumor1.html#anchor15257032.