Psycholinguistics is the study of the effect of language on personality. We have all been greatly influenced by the words we’ve heard through the years. Some single adults grew up in a positive linguistic environment. They heard words that emphasized the pleasant, joyful, and beautiful aspects of life. Others grew up in a more negative linguistic environment. Children who grow up in these contrasting environments will hear totally different vocabularies resulting in vastly different personalities and behavior patterns. The ancient Hebrew proverb did not overstate the impact of words: “The tongue has the power of life and death.”

Words of Encouragement
Affirming words is one of the five basic love languages. Within that language, however, there are many dialects. There are words of appreciation: expressing sincere gratitude for some act of service rendered. But there are also words of encouragement. The word encourage means “to inspire courage.” All of us have areas in which we feel insecure. We lack courage and that lack of courage often hinders us from accomplishing the positive things we would like to do.