Since I'm a writer, word choice means a lot to me. I was thinking about it over the long weekend, and I realized that a lot of my new optimism project has to do with my word choice. I've found myself replacing the words "if "and "maybe" with the words "when" and "will." I also correct my husband to do the same. For instance, when he said this weekend "If X happens then maybe we can do Y." I interrupted him and said, "When X happens then we will do Y."
In essence we were saying the same thing, but I've found that if I state things I want to happen as fact, or refuse to let doubt creep into my semantics, then I actually believe these things as truth, and I stop doubting. If I say something will be true, then I believe it will.
But in the conversation I was having my husband, his word choice was technically more accurate. He, of course, pointed this out to me. Does it matter? I thought about it, and I wondered if my positive word choices also mean that, in a way, I'm lying to myself. I'm eradicating the possibility of a negative outcome in my mind, but is this the smartest thing to do? Am I just setting myself up for disappointment and maybe, more pessimism, down the line?
What do you think? Do you ever state things as fact, even if they haven't happened yet?
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