If you spend any amount of time with me (online or face-to-face), you’ll quickly realize that I pretty much have 4 go-to words.
Pumped
Awesome
Love
Dude
I use them all the time. I mean…really a ton.
Do Words Define You?
I wouldn’t call any of these 4 words professional. I wouldn’t say that they make me sound more intelligent or more mature or more sophisticated – probably just the opposite. If we are thinking about these words in terms of decades, “Pumped” and “Awesome” are from the 80s; “Love” is 60s and 70s; and “Dude” is 90s – or something like that.
So do these words define who I am as a person? I’d say yes.
Pumped: I get fired up about a lot of things. I have a ton of energy and am always trying to get others around me to share in some of that passion and excitement. A recent IM exchange with Teresa Basich, confirms this:
djwaldow: i LOVE that 2 of my twitter friends are chatting
djwaldow: LOVE
Teresa Basich: honestly, the amount of enthusiasm you have for…anything, really, completely amazes me.
Teresa Basich: you’re just WOO LOVE PEOPLE I LOVE YOU GUYS YOU’RE SO AWESOME LIFE IS GREAT
Awesome: When I see something I like, something that gets me jazzed (or pumped), the first word out of my mouth is awesome. The word awesome is a mash-up of cool, radical, and sweet. It fits so many occasions. For example, this post is quickly becoming awesome.
Love: As I often say, I love a lot of things. I love a lot of people. I’m not “in love” with things and people as that is reserved for my wife, the K-Dawg. Yet, I truly love it when someone is successful, when they are happy, when they get pumped, when they do something awesome. I love it.
Dude: I use the word dude all the time. In fact, it may be my favorite word of all time. I’ve actually proclaimed entire days as “Dude Day” where I encourage others to use it in every exchange throughout the day. I’ve had debates with people about whether women are dudes (or dudettes). I start most IM conversations and many tweets with “Dude.”
Why do I love this awesome word and get pumped by it? (nice sentence, huh?) Dude is one of the most versatile words in the entire universe. It can be used to say hello: Dude; to start a conversation: Dude; to pose a question: Dude?; or to say goodbye: Later, Dude. Pretty powerful.
Back To Being Professional
Does it matter? I’m an adult (33 years old). I have a real job. I’m married, have a baby girl on the way, own a house, and have 3 cats and a dog. Am I too old to be using these “juvenile” words? Do they make me sound less professional? Do people take me less serious because I say pumped, awesome, love and dude? I’m not sure. Part of me doesn’t really care. Why? Because it is who I am. I think words do define you. They make you human. They make you a real person with real blood running through your veins.
I like what Amber Naslund says in her post, “Talk Like We Do.”
Hey, it could be worse. What if my 4 words were can’t, won’t, don’t, and no? Think about it.
In Your Words
What words do you find yourself using a lot? Are they positive, happy, upbeat words or dull, boring and/or negative words? Take a moment to reflect. Then share your words below (Please).
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
