It may be a good time to rethink what swear words or curse words really qualify as such anymore. I mean we hear them with such frequency that they are almost indiscernible from the other regular words we seem to use so often. I almost feel like when someone tells me to go “F” myself, they are really just saying, “Hello, how are you?” Not only are we hearing them all the time, but we are also hearing them from almost everyone and from people of all ages including very young children.

Not being a prude, I get it, I just think it may be time to change it up a bit. I was walking past four children playing on a beach. They appeared to be playing a game called running the bases, and they could not have been more than 10 years old. One of the boys and one of the girls got into an argument about whether they were safe on base or not. The torrent of “F” bombs and other awful expletives were screamed at one another. It wasn't just the words that caught my attention, it was the intensity of their words and body language at such a young age.

Where did they learn that from? Maybe it's watching news reels and videos of passengers losing their minds and yelling at each other, threatening to `F” word kill each other or beat the “S” word out of each other. Maybe it's from older siblings or cousins, parents or grandparents, or next-door neighbors. It is still happening in the corporate world too. For some, maybe it seems like it helps them to underscore a point more effectively or seem stronger in a heated debate.

Like I said, it's everywhere with unabashed frequency and malicious intent. I wish we could ignore them and come up with new ones, but the truth is that nasty and troubling words have been around forever, so we will never change those. But maybe we can change our own use of them and our own cadence, tone and frequency of how we use them. We all lose our cool from time to time, I get it. It really just sounds, feels and seems like we are allowing our foul language threshold to slip lower and lower all the time.

“But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief.” — Unknown

Words we use should be a construction zone, building others up along the way. Building people up with words of hope and encouragement. Beautiful and wonderful words of life that separate us from those who would rather operate through a demolition zone, using words to tear others down, and worse, doing it intentionally.

So, let's use the rest of this column to focus on what those beautiful and wonderful words of life are, and how we can use them to foster an environment of love, grace, unity and compassion.

I am not sure about you, but this has been a very deliberate and intentional movement or change in my own life. I was definitely a little looser in my language and word choices in the past — anyone reading this knows who I was and also knows who I have become, can validate that. I intentionally keep a word bank, a word bank that is top of mind and heart. A word bank that includes words like love, grace, kindness, gentleness, goodness, mercy, justice, forgiveness, passion, compassion, patience, faith, hope, encouragement, excellence, praiseworthy, joy, happiness, pure, powerful, positive, courage, strength, endurance, gratitude, humility, motivation, inspiration, success and so many more.

It's been said that you can't trust people who don't curse. Or, that people who curse are smarter than those who don't. I am fairly sure both of those were created by someone who loved to curse. How about you, do you feel smarter, funnier, stronger when you use swear words? Or are you a little ashamed or embarrassed at times? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can use the beautiful and wonderful words of life instead, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.