#523 When you learn a new word and then suddenly start seeing it everywhere

Thanks, universe.

Once in a while you send big blinking signs that everything’s unfolding according to plan. Yes, whether it’s a supersmooth drive home, some eerie deja vu, or a  perfect time showing up on the clock, you drop buzzy little braintwists that always keep us guessing.

Yes, it’s great when you learn a new word and then suddenly start seeing it everywhere. You know how it goes: something weird like coagulate, vexed, or perforated leaps into your temporal lobe and wedges itself there tightly, grabbing a beer, putting its feet up, making itself at home.

But then soon magazine articles are zooming the word up to your eyeballs, your college professor is dropping it in lectures, and you see it hanging strangely coagulate in the middle of a random blog.

“I never knew that word before,” you think. “but now it’s following me around.”

See, the Lords of Language know you well. They gotta repeat things to seal in the learning. So when it happens just enjoy that personal thrill, feel that connection crackle, and smile and nod because you just got a little bit smarter and a lot more

AWESOME!

Order The Book of Awesome

—Email message—

“Hi Neil! I’ve been slowly maneuvering my way through grad school.  Unfortunately, my boyfriend lives 200 miles away and it’s tough to have him leave Sunday nights and return to work. Tonight, after the boy left, I put aside my work for a little longer and dove into your book.  I felt so much better. Thank you for putting a little more AWESOME into the world, Erica.”

Photo from: here