The-Economics-of-Fear-and-The-Power-of-Language

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The Economics of Fear and The Power of Language

By Matthew Ferguson

The power of linguistics should never be underestimated or misunderstood.

We are undoubtedly living through uncertain political and economic times which are not helped by the tone and linguistic tricks of politicians and journalists who thrive on a negative story. In truth we always live in uncertain times but it seems to me heightened through the phrasing of questions and answers that can only generate fear, uncertainty and blame. We need investigative journalism and honest politics to uncover the true state of affairs. It seems to me we have entered an age of hyper-connectivity where the power of the media dominates the tone of society and feeds itself on bad news and if there isn't any to be found they will create some. Note the disgrace of phone hacking. This is not an attack on fine journalists that make us aware of our world situation economically and politically but a comment on the power of suggestion and its power to create self-fulfilling prophecy.

The way questions are phrased can presuppose the answer, not so much in it's factual veracity but its overall frame and tone. A question such as "So how bad are things" will naturally enough have the answer framed by degrees of "badness". A question such as "How can we meet this challenge" supposes a solution to a challenge. So not only do we understand this when we are coaching it also applies more generally. The constant references to doom and gloom become inescapable and self fulfilling putting a cloud on my normally sunny disposition. Thankfully I have way more to be grateful for than fearful of, but it sometimes becomes hard to remember this fact when the evening news is a constant barrage of doubt, uncertainty and fear. Although this is obviously a personal view and response I imagine there are many who feel the same. At least I can take some comfort in knowing that I am being influenced at conscious and unconscious levels. I can take more than just comfort in that knowledge I can be proactive with the skills inherent in NLP, hypnosis and meditation that help me get a truer perspective on events and deal with vagaries of circumstance. I can come to clearer decisions knowing what I have influence on and those things that are beyond my influence.

If we as a society became more solution focused to meet our challenges with positive solutions without ignoring the challenges we face we just might begin to have a social tone that is more positive and proactive in nature and less negative and reactive.

Understanding the power of language would help us be less influenced by political spins and economic fears and more confident and proactive in our lives, something I think we can all benefit from.

So, when we are making or taking suggestions created by language, be sure to filter it for impurities so the suggestions you make and take create a positive self-fulfilling prophesy and lead you where you want to go with a positive state of mind rather than one of fear. To quote Roosevelt "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".