A week and a half ago I slipped and fell off the outrageous shoes pictured to the right.

Within an hour I could barely walk. My right foot was swollen and fast turning black and blue. Ice, elevation and Advil did little to help. It was a bad sprain.

My kids helped me hobble around the house, while offering words of encouragement: “You will be running again in a week Mom!” The next day, friends and colleagues commiserated: “bummer,” “what a drag,” “sprains suck.”

But something told me this was no ordinary sprain. I got a ride to urgent care. An hour later x-rays confirmed my foot was broken.

Tell people you have a sprained foot and they offer sympathy. Tell people you have a broken foot and they offer to bring dinner!

Nothing had changed - the pain, the swelling, the discomfort, the challenge of maneuvering with an injured foot - but one word: “broken,” and suddenly people were moved to action.

My point is not that my friends are a bunch of callous louts. Far from it.

My point is, as cliché as it is to say, words do matter. I didn’t get to choose “sprained” over “broken.” But I do get to make lots of word choices throughout the day.

It makes me wonder, what impact do my choices have? It is something to think about.

Stephanie Ross, MA is the co-founder and co-CEO of Empoword. She is a certified MARI practitioner and maintains a private counseling practice, Intuitive Health Management, in St. Paul, MN.