A challenge to writers. Can we make it better?
By Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi
It is dark, quiet, rainy and cold October morning outside. I made my wonderful cup of coffee for the morning. This one I made with coconut milk a hint of cinnamon cocoa powder and some stevia for sweetness. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while.
Why do we use the words we use?
We could use any type of word to describe things and yet, we seem to gravitate toward negative words. Is it to catch your attention? Do we as humans tend to gravitate more toward something that has a negative title instead of a positive one?
Do tragedy and sadness stimulate our brain more than happiness and joy?
Have you noticed that there are so many things around us described in a negative way even if it is for a positive intent?
Example: the war against…… the battle against…. fighting for….. justice, poverty, racial inequality, cancer, war, oil companies, pharmaceuticals…..and the list goes on.
Why do we use the words we are fighting for something even if it is a positive cause?
Why are we using the words- fighting against cancer- instead of using positive reinforcements? I’ve been thinking about words that we could use instead of negative words to encourage positivity and joy in our life. Maybe there is a solution to all the negative words.
When I grow up in Hungary I learned about the revolution in our language when we changed words from exactly describing things to words that are easier to pronounce and shorter. An example would be a train. We used to stay instead of saying that it is a train that it is a machine that moves forward. Another example would be a tie. Instead of saying it was a tie we used to say it is something that goes around your neck and rests on your chest. It is definitely a long way to describe something and I’m wondering if we could create something similar to change how we describe things in a more positive and supportive manner. Instead of using the words war and battle and fight what words could we use.
Words I can think of right now: prevention, support, healing of the body, awareness. Could we say let’s support the people who have lower incomes and live in poverty instead of saying the war against poverty or inequality?
Could we say empower the people to speak up and support each other for equal rights?
I’m just playing with words and trying to figure out why we use so much negativity in our lives. Since english is my second language, I would be curious to hear what other people have to say regarding this topic. I would love to see more positive descriptions to support love and care for each other instead of negative descriptions even if it’s for a positive cause.
I am wondering if there’s a tendency not to pay attention to something unless it has a strongly negative word attached to it. Similarly, the way how we don’t pay attention to public health unless there’s an emergency like our current pandemic situation.
Do we have our brains wired to create emphasis on negativity more than on a positive influence?
If we do have our brain focus on more negative things, could we change our brains and train ourselves to focus on positive things even in our writing? Could we commit as writers to write a little more with positive intent and use positive words when we describe something? It is definitely a challenge.
Are you up to it? Let me know what you think.
Thank you for reading,
Gabriella
