Yes, your speech does control your life. When you say something, it’s a kind of commitment you are making to your own self. Therefore it is significant. Your speech depends on your thoughts. It is instrumental to your actions. So the speech is connected with both, your thoughts and your actions. When you are careful about what your say, in fact you are controlling your actions. Further it also means rejecting some of your thoughts and selecting some others. On an average an individual has 60,000 thoughts during 24 hours. Even when you sleep, thoughts keep working in your mind. But your conscious speech surely tries to give some direction to your thoughts.
Knowledge depends on what we read, our interactions with other people and our experiences. All these form the background material. It is upon us to make choices on what to use and how to use. Some people do not learn from their own experiences, however bad. They keep on making the same mistakes again and again. Shakespeare’s tragedies explain the phenomenon in greater detail. Each of the tragic heroes of his plays is inflicted by a habit which in the end causes his destruction. In Shakespearian literature, it is known as the tragic flaw.
One may argue that it is only fiction and has no relation with life. These tragic plays were written about 500 years ago. The tragic flaw or the destructive habit may be an exaggerated one. Yet, if we look at our lives closely, we will find that many of us keep making the same mistakes again and again. These faults are known to others through our speech and/or dependant actions. Often these are also known to us. But if we strictly control our speech these faults will also be controlled. We can change our lives altogether.
Some people are prone to corruption due to greed. Some others are obsessed with power. Even though we all know that arrogance is not good, yet many are extremely arrogant. They cause immense harm to the society and often to themselves as well. Arrogance or any other personality flaw is evident in our communications. These are visible to others as well as known to us. The moment we decide to control our speech, these flaws are also controlled. What you speak and how you speak also displays your manners and culture.
I consider that for most of us who are fortunate to be blessed with 3 basic needs i.e. food, shelter and clothing; speech becomes the most important human need. Thus desire to express is important. Leaders lead by expressing what is good for the persons they lead. Their expression or speech surely impacts their behavior and actions. Likewise people who want to progress in their respective fields have to use their speech with discretion.
Now let us see how to create and maintain good communication. The Bhagwad Gita emphasizes that clear, controlled speech is a great human asset. In order to have good voice and develop clarity in speech one has to practice deep breathing. Besides you have to maintain good health by taking proper care of your food, exercise, abstention from worrying and tensions. Thus when you are caring for your speech you are also looking after your health. Deep breathing as a habit empowers you with more enthusiasm as you consume more oxygen. Deep breathing is also a requirement of good speech.
Throughout the world we have good examples that great leaders have excelled with their excellent speeches. Our own Mr. Narendra Modi is a shining example.
Thanks for reading.
