Hyperbole: Guilty!

Hyperbole

It is interesting that hyperbole is the daily word for today. I have been questioning the worth of hyperboles. Are they necessary? If so, then why?

This past Thursday, I was just sharing with a student how sleep deprived I felt that I was. I admitted that the last time I had some good sleep was before my son was born. As I was sharing that I, too, suffered from a lack of sleep, I questioned why am I agreeing with the need to just sleep my life away? Why am I using the phrase “I could sleep for a long time” when it is not true? Even when I worked nights, years ago, as a staff nurse at a local hospital, I could only sleep for 1-2 hours when I got home. Yes, I was tired, but I did not want to go to sleep during the day. That’s what nights were for. As you probably figured out, I did not work nights for long. There is a time for everything, and my body works well with its “master clock.”

If given the chance today, would I want to sleep my life away? The answer was and still is no, of course. I have so many things I still want to do, and I keep adding activities/events to my bucket list. Honestly, I have been trying to be more mindful of my thoughts and what I say. If I do not mean something, then why say it? It is a waste of energy and a waste of words, yet, I am sure I have used the phrase many times before, especially between the years of 2011-now.

Why do we feel the need to add excessive value to how we feel? With my statement of being tired, acknowledging that I was tired is one thing and to exaggerate is another. Let’s take another hyperbole. “I am so hungry, I can eat a horse.” Can I really? So, why exaggerate? Am I asking for the other person’s permission to go to sleep or to eat? What is my intention for using a hyperbole? To illicit compassion? Money? Food? love? Is it necessary to have others to empathize with me to take me seriously, or did I need the student to feel like she is not alone?

Sometimes when we are going through an ordeal, we think that we are the only one going through something. I usually tell my students they are not alone and can usually share a life changing story without getting to personal. I have to remember that even being quiet and just listening may be what the other person needs at that time especially instead of saying something I know is not true. Does the other person need to know how hungry I am or how sleepy I am? Not necessarily. Constantly feeling the need that one should quantify or quality statements for others to relate does not sound like a healthy habit. I need to change my ways.

I have been aware of another phrase for a very long time and this phrase is “say what you mean and mean what you say.” So, as we constantly evolve, we find out that some of the things we do, the words we say may conflict with something else we believe it or want to believe in. I need to be more true to the phrase “say what you mean and mean what you say” and stop saying things that are not true.

The more one says something, the more one tends to believe it. There is a known link between our beliefs and our actions (self-fulfilling prophecy). Again, as in the example above, I do not need to believe I am so tired. If anything, I need to believe that I am energetic and high on life.

I am guilty of using some hyperboles, and I confess. I need to stop using hyperboles, and just say what I mean, and mean what I say.
Timika
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