In his journal paper titled, “The Effect of Language on Economic Behavior: Evidence from Savings Rate, Health Behavior and Retirement Savings“, researcher Keith Chen showed that people who spoke languages which made no separation between the present and the future were more likely to make good decisions in the present that led to better future outcomes.
Consider two languages: English and Chinese.
Suppose you want to tell someone that you’re going to save money when you get paid your salary at the end of the month.
If you’re speaking English, you’d say:
“I WILL save money at the end of the month”
As you can see, there’s a separation between the present and the action you want to take in the future.
On the other hand, in Chinese, that separation doesn’t exist. A Chinese speaker wanting to express the same idea will say something which when translated to English will mean,
“I save money at the end of the month”
By running analysis with tons of data from different countries, the study demonstrated that people from cultures where the language did not separate the present from the future were more likely to save more, retire with wealth, smoke less and maintain a healthy weight. This seems to support the hypothesis that the way ‘future time’ is talked about influences the way ‘future time’ is thought about. If your language prevents you from seeing your future as disconnected from your present, you are less likely to take your actions in the present with levity.
My key takeawayfrom the study is that your words have an impact on your thoughts which will, in turn, influence your actions. To change your life, start with the manner you speak.