First Words

Each workday morning, I get the opportunity to travel 18 miles to work. Since I live by myself, I don’t usually get the opportunity to speak until I arrive at work. Recently, I started paying attention to the first words I speak every morning to see the motive, emotion, attitude, and purpose behind them.

Our first words in many ways can set the attitude and path we start the day out on. If they are harsh or critical, then we have a much better chance that the day will start out in a negative manner. If our first words are uplifting, we can set a positive tone for the day and help us as make the day a much more enjoyable event.

Philippians 4:8 (The Message)
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

After tracking my words for about a month, I noticed a definite pattern. Many times my first words were directed at people in traffic on my route to work. Though I live in a rural area, the traffic on my road can be heavy at times due to the thousands of people that transverse my road on their way to work at SRS. I spent twenty years there myself and though the management of the facility preaches safety in every aspect of your life (work and home) apparently their workers forget much of the safety training while they are in route to work. That along with the people that think they are the only people on the road or that the roads were built for them, can have a tendency to get me riled up on the roadway, not only in the morning but anytime. I recognized that I have the desire to vocalize my opinion of their driving and at time question their family’s heritage. When this happens, I start the day out on the wrong foot and it creates a hurdle for me to overcome in order to correct the issue and get my mind and attitude back on track.

If I make it to work without incident, usually the first words directed to me are from co-workers. Depending on which door I come in, they are either cordial welcomes or desperate pleas for help with an issue that affects the ability for the station to operate in the excellent manner which the employees and public have come to expect. Many times I am bombarded with requests long before I even make it to my office to gather my composure and focus on events for the day. When this happens, I can also start the day off in a negative manner requiring an attitude also.

However on most days, I make my commute to work quietly and to my office at work without incident. On these days, the first words are usually directed to/from me as pleasantries from the wonderful co-workers I have. Usually it’s one of the kind gentlemen or beautiful young ladies I work with and one cannot help but start the day out on the right foot after a kind word from them.

Our attitudes can be set by the initial moments we start our day off with. If you have children or a spouse, sometimes they can be difficult at the beginning of the day. A rough nights sleep or, as with children, a rough wake up can make us start the day off in a negative manner and can adversely affect our entire day. A difficult co-worker can also have the same effect on our day. It’s at this time we need to decide that no matter how we start the day off, we will have a good day and stay positive throughout the day.

A few years back I was going through a rough patch almost every morning. No matter how I felt when I woke in the morning, something was going to ruin it and I’d have a tough time making it through the day with my usual upbeat personality. I learned even more during this time to meditate and pray asking the Lord to help me to stay positive no matter what life dealt me during the day. It can be difficult, however it can be accomplished.

I still have a way to go as I have not attained the level I need. I’ve worked on the negative attitudes I have acquired and still need to eliminate the unkind remarks I make to others at times. It’s a continual process and the Lord has helped me much in these areas over the past few months but progress still needs to be made.

All this being said, I ask you to try this experiment: over the next two weeks minimum (preferably the next month), start tracking the first words you speak of each day. Note what the words were, who they were directed toward, their meaning and context, and your tone for the words. Check to see if any adjustments need to be made so that you can stay in a positive mental state and make the day more enjoyable to you and those you come into contact with each day. It can help you mentally, emotionally, and physically.