I curse a shit ton. There I said it. It’s not a habit I’m particularly proud of, but my potty mouth has been a part of who I am for quite sometime. Whether it’s me littering my everyday conversation with words not allowed in church, or commanding my friends to kiss my ass, cursing plays a sizable role in my everyday life.
Being a generally happy person, most of my profanities are in playful jest, however there are rare occasions where I let the words fly with every intention of causing harm. Having thought a great deal about language and its impact I’ve come up with the perfect 30 day trial. For the next month I will do my best to refrain from using any profanities at all.
Who Gives A Shit?
To some, giving up cursing may seem like a ‘childish’ pursuit, after all they are just words. But for me it goes beyond not cursing. I want to clarify that I’m not cleaning up my language for some spiritual or religious reason (although I do hope it will help strengthen my spiritual life). Instead, I’m kicking off this trial in hopes of raising awareness of the affect of the language we use in our lives.
Secondly, I am well aware there are some amazing people out there who have a reputation for having a foul mouth (a certain life coach even comes to mind). This experiment has nothing to do creating a “clean image” but instead simply help me to become more aware of the language I use.
I’m hoping the next 30 days will reveal a great deal about the person I am.
What I Hope To Accomplish
Build Awareness: I’ve always been fascinated with how language affects our daily interactions. If you consistently use negative language you generally become a negative person. That isn’t to say language DEFINES who we are, but it definitely has an impact on our emotions and our overall vibe. Because I will be consciously choosing the words I say, I will also be likely notice some of the negative thoughts that might creep into my head. I will also be more likely to notice some of the more positive thoughts that also pop into my head throughout the day.
Build Self Control: While I hope to refrain from cursing completely, I’m realistic enough to know there could be some major slippage here and there. I’m well aware it will take quite a bit of effort to keep my language PG especially since I’m conditioned to use language heard in things rated R. I’m always up for developing self control, so learning to watch my language is a simple and straight forward way to do so. I have informed my friends to call me out anytime I do slip up to further encourage me to take notice of the words I use.
Does Cursing Make You Miserable? One thing I’m particularly interested in is whether or not cursing affects my happiness or lack of. Does cursing (even in good jest) negatively impact my daily emotions? Or does it not do any harm? I’ll be paying specific attention to my mood for the next 30 days to see if I see any obvious results. Obviously there may be other factors which contribute to my happiness levels, but I’ll keep a close eye on the impact my diction choice may have.
Will I Be Less Funny? Some may argue I lack humor even when I do rely on the crutch of a naughty word, but for me, I feel most humorous when I throw in an F-bomb here and there. It will be interesting to see how much my humor suffers over the next few couple of weeks. Telling people to kiss my butt just isn’t as fun. 
Social Interactions: I am also intrigued to see how giving up profanity will affect my relationships. Will my conversations carry a more serious tone? Will I be less likely to crack an immature joke now that I can’t use forbidden words? Will I be seen as more mature than normal? Ask any of my friends, and you’d quickly discover I routinely go on random tangents about the existence of life. And what is the existence of life if it doesn’t involve the words “shit ton” or “badass?”
Join Me In Building Language Awareness
For the next 30 days I challenge you to become more aware of the language you use everyday. I’m not even asking for you to give up saying your favorite words. All I ask is that you make the conscious effort to notice your daily vocabulary you use in every day conversation. Simply taking the time to become aware of the words you use is a powerful exercise that will surely hold some insight on the person you express on a regular basis.
I know the next 30 days will be a wonderful growth opportunity for me…even if I can’t use combinations of words straight out of the sailors dictionary.
I hope you choose to join me.
Editors note: For the record, the profanities I used in this post don’t count.
This is a great challenge!
I’m in, 100%, I have a really bad potty mouth and my favorite words starts with an ‘F’.
I’m currently interviewing for jobs and the last thing I need is a curse word slipping out during the interview.
I’ll try to keep you updated on my progress.
Great Post Bud!
Thanks man. Glad to hear you’re joining in.
Well done to you. The thinging about swearing is that people interpret those words really differently and what might be in fun to some seems angry and aggressive to others. My builder has been swearing about the weather (bad for bricklaying) which he see’s as an acceptable emphasis on his moan. My daughter thinks he is the scariest most aggressive man out there. Which he isn’t.
Good luck with your goal!
http://savvymum.com
I recently had a conversation with my father about using swearing. He made a good point in that it really has it’s time and place. When I was growing up I almost never heard my parents swear. I was surprised to learn that Dad did swear when I got older, but he only swore when he was at work. He never did around my mother or my sisters and almost never at home. Good luck with the Challenge!
Good point Vince. It’s all a matter of location and the situation.
30 Day Challenges are fun. I am currently doing one now. On cursing, I think awareness is most important. Think about it; sometimes when with friends and goofing off…it’s kind of fun…because you know you aren’t going to offend them. Look at movies; will they ever not use profanity? We expect them and it adds “richness” and color (humor) at times.
On the other hand, if I were talking to a client or prospect that I didn’t know, it would be sort of disrespectful to drop 4 letter words every other breathe. This isn’t so much because they’re offended but because it shows you don’t give a darn (see I am not using profanity in the spirit of this post)
So, while I like the idea of the 30 DC, I think it’s most important to be aware and use common sense. It usually is “common.” I think it is a good idea for a 30 DC in order for you to realize and take control. Seems you’re aware this would be good for you?
Mike
Hey Mike! Thanks for stopping by! What are you doing for your 30 day challenge?
The reason I began this challenge is because I felt that using profanities was such a big part of my life that I wanted to see if I could go 30 days without cursing.
Hey Bud!
That’s a good reason. And I am not just saying that to agree with you or say “gee whiz” that’s great. As we move on in our life we make choices how we treat our bodies and talk to ourselves. I like to have a couple drinks once in a while. Even so, I also like to be able to make sure I don’t have to have them. So, in order to stay true to one of may values “I am healthy and fit” I won’t have any drinks for months. Then what happens is that after a few months I still won’t care for one. Perhaps using profanity in excess can be looked at in a similar manner. Either way, it seems like you realized there was a need to challenge yourself. Keep us posted.
As for my 30DC, I signed up for an internet program; it is called he 30DC. You may be aware of the program I am speaking of. It’s completely free and like Glenn’s Blogging Blueprint it teaches core skills of internet marketing and how to structure a business. For me, its been great.
Good luck with your own 30DC. By the way, I am starting a NO Sugar, 30 DC next week. That’s going to be interesting!
Sounds great Mike! I’m sure you will learn loads within the 30 days! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!
I totally fucking refuse to join in, but I wish your the best of luck
I’ve had people tell me I cuss more than a sailor, not that I’ve ever talked to a sailor to find out how much that is, but I think you describe it right when you say a shit ton. I don’t see it stopping and honestly don’t care much if it does. I’ll be watching your posts though to see if you slip up
Hi Bud, I almost refrained myself again from commenting on this post because you cursed, but I feel that it’s about time. Last time I read a post on yours and half way through it, I wanted to comment on it. But then you used a curse word, so I refrained myself from doing so.
The reason I did so wasn’t because you were a bad person, but because I associate curse words with myself if I happen to be near them (e.g. curse word in the post and commenting in the same post with curse word equals I’m associated with the curse word). Part of the reason for this because of my OCD, but also because I’ve always tried to stay clear away from cursing and don’t see a need for it unless one really needs to.
There might have been others like me who have done the same thing; there might have not, but I just wanted to voice my opinion about people who curse a lot. Thanks for sharing this Bud. I hope you get through your challenge.
Hey Hulbert. Thanks for sharing your story i know that may be difficult for you. You don’t have to worry though because I’ve vowed to refrain from using profanties in future posts, so that you can feel comfortable commenting on all of them. thanks again man I appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
I wish you all the best, Glen. I’ll be keeping you in mind for the next month. I don’t swear at all. I detest reading swear words on the Internet and personally feel they should be kept to private conversations if people felt they really had to.
The other day my kids were at a match and the guy sitting behind them swore for the duration. We do not subject our kids to nasty words, but this man felt he had the right to. It was like making our kids sit in a room and having him smoke in their faces. It was nasty.
I’ve noticed through the years that people who swear use the same four (or so) words to express all types of emotions: happiness, sadness, excitement, fear, sincerity etc. Where are the other words we have in our large English vocabulary stored?
Anyway, I won’t go on. All the best with this. I addressed this issue once before. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one.
Hey Anne.. appreciate the comment. Just a heads up, Glen is no longer the main writer of the site.
My comment disappeared. Good luck anyway.
great post my friend,
In my life I follow this allegation : positive thoughts –> positive people –> positive bank account.
and as you see you can replace “positive thoughts” with “positive words”
Hey David.. again it’s not about me cleaning up my language per se but rather noticing the language i use!
Bud,
Congratulations for deciding this. I read some time ago that some researchers found that human beings are not the only primates which curse. When you curse a lot there is an area of your brain that increases it size. The researchers found this area higher in size in some primates so they concluded that some primates curse a lot as well. The interesting thing is that what you do and think changes your brain and makes more probable that you repeat your behaviour in the future. I am sure that if you persist in the pursue of your purpose, this will bring excellent unexpected results to you.
All the best,
Boris
Very interesting Boris… I did not know that!
Great post Bud. We all do not how much of a habit something is until we go without it. Good luck!
Thanks Sherman.
Good luck with your challenge. I did that kind of “cleaning” some years ago and it certainly was a good thing.
Sorry, Bud. I’ll make sure I check who the poster is next time. I took it for granted. My apologies.
Anne
Hey Anne! No worries!
Here’s the story: http://www.pluginid.com/new-face-new-journey/
Hope all is well.
Interesting post Bud. Let me share something I’ve recently read which relates to what you were describing….
Some researchers published experiments in psychology journals which reported the results of students playing a game where they could either play it as a “win-win” (cooperate with each other) or a “I win, you lose” (compete with each other) game. The game was based on the concept of the prisoner’s dilemna. If both parties were competitive, they both got a low score. If one person competed but the other cooperated, the competing person won but the cooperative person lost. If both parties cooperated, both were rewarded.
In the researchers’ experiments, the students played the game two different ways. The only difference between the 2 games was that 50% of the players were told it as a “Community Game” (bringing to mind cooperation) while the other 50% were told it was the “Wall Street Game” (bringing to mind cut-throat competition). People who played the Community Game were much more cooperative and honest about their intentions than those who believed they were playing the Wall Street game.
It goes to back to what you said about the language we use affects our interactions. It really does.
Hey Adam! Thanks for the story. I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere else as well, but it was a great reminder.
I remember cursing so much in High School that my best mate and I decided that every time we cursed we had to punch each other hard to the arm. People started thinking we were somewhat retarded but it worked. Come to think of it, it was more the people thinking we were retarded than the punches that stopped us from swearing. I’m back to my old bad habit though and swearing more than ever.
As long as you can live with it.
That’s a lot of punches.
Think this would be a good one for me. I am exactly like you, I feel that my most humorous times are when I curse everything around me. At one hand, I don’t want to let that go, but on the other side, we should be funny without hurting people also right?
I actually heard myself cursing a couple of days ago, when I was at my girlfriends grandparents, not that nice..
Tough eh? It’s been interesting for me. I’ve slipped up several times so far.
Fantastic post. Just found your blog while reading an exchange of tweets between you and Jonathan Mead.
Your blog is awesome. I’ll be sure to follow it closely, as I also post about similar subjects.
Keep on rocking!
Welcome dude! Hope all is well.
It is funny you write about this because I was just telling some of my friends that it seems the most used word in my vocabulary in response to something they tell me is “cool” or “awesome.” I have been trying to make a list of other words to use instead, even if they are a little crazy. Like “far out” or “rad” or “hell yeah!”
Sounds like a great trial Bud. I won’t be joining in for this one as I’m working on getting my other trials in place first. It’ll be great to know your progress here too. All the best for your trial Bud!
Woo-hoo
That’s bold. Giving up cursing it’s certainly something way more difficult than you imagine. One thing I know for sure, it will drastically affect your social life. If you do have a closed circle of friends with the same habit, it will create an imbalance. Don’t talk about being right or wrong, it’s about the fact that you’ll become more difficult to communicate with for the period of this trial. In communication, every word has a meaning besides its “normal” meaning. It’s a meta language. If you cut a big slice from your daily talking habits (and I understand cursing it’s a big slice) you will face a real communication problem here.
I’m right behind you on this one, Bud.
It’s so tough at the start but just like any other habit, after the first 10 days it will get much easier. Good luck with it as long as you aren’t doing it for others sake.
Yeah, a lot of people are really offended by this swearing shit. It just totally freakin’ freaks them out. But if you don’t really care all that much, but rein in your language only when it seems appropriate to the audience you’re addressing, you’re normal. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
One lady who is definitely abnormal (in a fun and delightfully foul-mouthed way) is Naomi Dunford at http://www.IttyBiz.com. She has more fun with talking (and typing) trash than any ten other people I know. I love to visit her blog and enjoy her latest turds of wisdom. When it comes to language, she definitely throws a good potty-party.
Charles
It is funny you write about this because I was just telling some of my friends that it seems the most used word in my vocabulary in response to something they tell me is “cool” or “awesome.” I have been trying to make a list of other words to use instead, even if they are a little crazy. Like “far out” or “rad” or “hell yeah!”
Hey,
where are you posting your the results of your experiment?
Best regards