Red Room Where the Writers Are

Issue/Publication: Womanwse Magazine

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If you have ever watched the television series, Charmed, you are familiar with the phrase “The power of three” and its significance to the three witches. I am not a fan of the show but I’ve always been intrigued by the words.  

The following five three-word phrases hold no magic but they will have a profound impact in your life and your relationships if you use them on a daily basis.

1. I love you. From babyhood to adulthood, this phrase is comforting and encouraging and helps to engender a positive mindset and wholesome perspective of ourselves, our place in the world, relationships and life in general. Knowing that we are loved and hearing the words, often makes it easier to surmount obstacles in our lives, rise to opportunities, stay centred in the midst of trying circumstances and grow in confidence. 

If these are some of the benefits you have received from someone saying “I love you" to you, then do the same. Say it and say it often. 

2. I need help. Does this phrase fill you with dread? Do you hesitate or refuse to use it fearful that the question will portray you as weak, incapable and unprofessional? Save your fear for a more realistic issue. Instead of being a sign of weakness, asking for help is the opposite. It is a sign of strength. It is a sign of maturity. Depending on the circumstances it can be the sign of a professional who knows that often success hinges on the knowledge that a variety of people bring to the table. 

Who never needed help? The holders of the highest office in every country surround themselves with advisors to counsel them on every issue they have to deal with on a daily basis. Left to themselves to do it all, well, God help us.

It is true that help is not always given willingly or generously. Nevertheless, ask. The help you seek doesn’t necessarily have to come from one source. Seek another and another until you get the help you need. Sometimes it is in the process of seeking and asking for help that clarity and answers come.

On your journey through your life, with its daily troubles, goals you want to accomplish and dreams calling out to be achieved, you could be wasting time and losing ground if you don’t ask for help.  Bring humility, respect and patience into the mix and enhance your relationship with the person who gives you the help you need. 

3. I’ll do it. Community projects in your neighbourhood, programs your church is planning or new departmental or company initiatives all require and will only succeed if people like you are will to step up to the proverbial plate.

Sometimes projects have all the professional help they need. Their calls are for support personnel to implement plans and polices. Other times, they need people to volunteer their expertise, their time and their unique skills. As the country braces for hard economic times ahead, calls will go out for help from various groups.

When the opportunity arises, when the call comes, will you step up to the plate with a hearty, “I’ll do it”?

4. I appreciate you. “Thank you” is one thing. “I appreciate you" and "I appreciate it" says so much more. Don’t you think? We can be thankful to someone or for something and not truly appreciate the thought, the act, the gift, the help or the situation.

For example:

You might say thank you when the office messenger picks up your lunch order. Yet have you ever thought to tell him how much you appreciate his leaving the air conditioned comfort of the office to walk back and forth in the blazing sun?

You might say thank you to your child’s baby sitter but when last did you say and show a more heartfelt appreciation for the immeasurable support she is to you by freeing you from worrying about your child?

Who are the people who bring balance, organization and simplicity to your life? When last did you tell them that you appreciate what they do for you and your family?

Let’s ensure that deep and meaningful appreciation is at the heart of every thank you we say and every now and then, we tell someone that we appreciate him or her, their help, their discipline, their kindness, etc.

5. Yes I can. I read that President-elect Barack Obama. I am told he did not utter these words without wide consultation or deep contemplation on all it would mean to his political career and his family. He pondered long and hard and once he believed that it was possible and that he had the confidence and fortitude to face the ramifications, he declared to himself first and then to everyone else, including the citizens of the United States of America and the rest of the watching world, “Yes I can” and yes, he did.

Of course now he is the poster child (man) for dreams coming true, the possibility and the reality of change and the power of three little words. Do you have the belief, the confidence and the adventurous heart to take this phrase and make it a part of your life arsenal to fight negativity?

Unlike the witches in Charmed, you can’t invoke the “power of three” but you can use these three-word phrases to make a difference in your life and in the lives of people you live and work with and those you encounter on your life’s path.