The Tool Within You

We hear about them constantly.

The newest tool, the latest app. Have you heard? Seamless, frictionless, scalable, real-time. It's simple, just sign up here, click there, and you're off! Building, creating, sharing.

The pace of new software is breathtaking. We're undergoing the greatest tool revolution in human history, and it's all happening in an afternoon. Rocks into tomahawks took us millions of years. Trendy new apps can reach millions within a few months. New software leaps up forward as a species. It's worth celebrating.

Each new tool brings more optimization. A little better, a little faster, a little easier. As residents of the Twittersphere, we focus untold time and energy searching for that next tool-based tweak that will make all the difference.

Ready for the twist? You already have the best tool of all. It's with you, right now. You can use it to build, create, and share. It's free and easy. The only drawback? It's hard to see. It hides in plain site, undiscovered and under-used.

Language.

That's it?! Yes. Language is the tool. But only when used a certain way.

See, we mostly use words to describe the world. The chair is red. The soup is hot. Reality exists, and words help us describe reality.

No, no, no. Words are not merely descriptive. Words are generative. Reality is far more infinite than our 3 pounds of neurons can fathom. The words we use each day lasso some fraction of the infinite and make it real. What you focus on expands. What you don't focus on doesn't exist, in a way. At least for you.

Every word that leaves your lips, thumbs, or fingertips shapes your reality, whether or not you realize it. Every situation can be viewed from endless perspectives; with language, you decide how you'll view it.

We must be careful of the words we toss around carelessly. I'm bad with names. It's just one of those weeks. 2021 is the WORST! If you say so. But before we complain or self-criticize, we'd do well to remember the beautiful words of Erich Heller:

"Be careful of how you view the world; it is that way."