Some words live with us forever.

It might be a phrase uttered by your favourite grandparent when you were sitting on their knee, it might be the first time you got a rocket from the boss at work, or maybe it was the first few stumbling lines as you chatted up the person you were eventually going to marry.

In all of these cases, it is your personal circumstances in which you heard these words that made them memorable. You were at a period in your life when you really needed to hear them – they resonated and stuck in your memory, often to be remembered when inspiration is needed.

It is often the case that when we need to hear a certain thing, it comes into our life from the most unexpected of places. It might be a conversation that is overheard on a train; it might be one of your colleagues telling a story over lunch at work, or maybe a throwaway phrase from your manager’s morning meeting.

The words might not be aimed specifically at you, but it is exactly at these times that you will be most influenced. The most random of phrases can change your life if it comes at the right place and the right time.

Now, turning the idea around, you are equally influencing huge amounts of people with your words, never knowing precisely whom you have touched and what difference you have made. You will never quite understand the inner world of your colleagues, and you can bet that you influence them in imperceptible ways with everything you say.

The daunting thing is that this works both ways: if you exude positive vibes, people will mostly be influenced positively, but if you are negative, it is all too easy for people to be adversely influenced. Your soul is nourished (either way) when it sees a reflection in others – when you are feeling down, it is all too easy to find the negatives in what someone is saying.

So, if you never fully understand how your words might be influencing the inner words of others, why risk taking them to an even darker place by moaning, complaining and being negative? They might laugh at your jokes of being “the next to be fired” but inside they might be crumbling with fear. You words might haunt them at night, the last straw before they are ready to give up.

The ripple effect will continue long after the words have left your mouth.

On the other hand, the impact of positive words can often have the opposite effect. Yes, you may well make someone’s day that little bit better, but it is the supportive effect for those people who are not having a great time where the full difference is felt.

As the world is seemingly entering another phase of uncertainty, people need support like never before.

When you spread positivity, the ripples will make a difference. One day, it might even save someone’s life. You will probably never know.