The thing about the way you speak is that it is central to the way you feel. More importantly, how you function. When I made it my resolution last year to drop my trash talk, I could feel everything about myself moving in the direction that I had been aiming to go towards forever. That means any cursing, and every "like" and "uhh" in all their variations (he/she was like, ahh) had to drop out of my vocabulary.
Like the resolution to exercise regularly and get yourself in your best physical shape, this was like consistent mental training. The difference between them was that adjusting your speech gave me immediate results, ultimately making me practice what I dubbed "logo-certainty" more often. And it was free, which is almost never a con when it comes to student survival.
Since then I've been urging everyone to try it, as soon as possible instead of waiting for the New Year. So really quickly, here's the top three I've noticed so far:
1. It makes you really creative.
Shiitake mushrooms are nothing when you find yourself looking to be innovative. If you're in pain post-cliff jumping 25 feet because you went crazy for a second (just hypothetically speaking), you'll probably be able to attest to feeling only a quarter of the pain. You can still show somebody how you feel (and make it hurt worse) if you're not cursing. Shakespeare did it all the time and ended up inventing almost half of the English language. If someone told me I was unfit for any place but hell, I'm way more likely to be offended (or proud if I'm in a vile mood). It's also more interesting to hear someone referred to as a "stuffed cloak-bag of guts". It'll catch the person bothering you off-guard too, and in most cases usually stops the cycle because not too many people bounce back from that. Best part of it? It's a fun brain game for parties and road trips that take obscene amounts of time.
2. It puts things into perspective.
You'll notice yourself eventually becoming more selective with your word choice. If something warrants an F-bomb, it's probably something you consider important. On the other hand, noticing when being verbally abusive is unnecessary really helps you trace the root of your anger and legitimately instill self-control. You'll be apologizing and hurting people less often, without necessarily sacrificing your right to be blunt or find an understanding. So far I have found that people are more willing to listen and be genuine towards you, often in formal situations really appreciate that you're not wasting their time. I'm not lying when I tell you a future employer complemented me on my articulation for an interview. I didn't think I was being articulate- I just nixed out the places where I would have used the 'uhh' by taking 10 seconds to form the entire sentence. (To be completely honest, I still think those 10-second intervals for thought are what really got me the summer job but honorable mentions to the really spiffy looking shirt.)
3. It helps your focus.
I remember being that person in a room who looked at a peer and went "Wow- XYZ is so smart. XYZ really has their stuff together- I WISH THAT THAT WAS ME." Asking them about it resulted in XYZ laughing it off usually, making it evident that their life is a mess if they didn't accept the compliment. Or maybe you would walk into their house for a dinner and find out their room was a budding Petri dish. The only thing you'll know for sure is that between the organization apps, planners, etc., they articulate well what they need to understand. Giving yourself the choice to refuse being distracted (even when you speak), sets you up to be successful. Imagine if you looked up how to do something on the internet, and your Wiki-How article or video is smitten with likes and profanities. Even better, you're being presented with the specials at a restaurant and the waiter says "So like, today we have this uhh, burger, with like, egg and sausage, which I'm pretty sure is like- 20 percent off if you uhh, have the coupon." I don't want that burger. You probably aren't crazy about it either. So in an odd little analogy, think of your speech as a presentation of food. You typically want people to want to hear about it, order it, and get on with having a ridiculously fulfilling conversation.
On top of all that, I've been feeling much more confident when I meet new people. Take a day to monitor your uhh's and outbursts and spend the next few days gradually weaning them out. Trust that it will be good for you on any front you can possibly think up. Ultimately, free your mind- you definitely won't regret trying it.
