From F Bombs to B Bombs
Pop! Goes your frustration
You’re running late. You’re stuck in traffic. You’re trying to stay calm, the light changes colour, yay! However, your foot doesn’t leave the brake, someone is trying to nudge in front you, the guy behind you is honking and then - ZOOM - a car flies by you in the emergency lane and—BOOM—your blood starts to boil. You feel like this guy - 🤯.
To make your day even brighter, you sit get to sit through the colours again... Red. Yellow. Green.
And then, to quote Ralphie from a Christmas Story, “the queen mother of dirty words” flies out … F#&! That doesn’t spell fudge. For a moment it felt so good to get my frustration out so the F - Bombs continued, and so did my frustration…
Red. Yellow. Green.
F#&!!
This was me recently. I had "happy hour" plans with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in ages. I gave myself an hour—a whole 60 minutes—for what should’ve been a 20-minute drive as it was before rush hour. I was being responsible. But then…I sat. And sat. And sat.
TWO hours later, I was still sitting, still not at the restaurant, and oh yes—still dropping F - Bombs at every traffic light like it personally betrayed me.
Red. Yellow. Green
F#&!!!
Just for fun, one more time…
Red. Yellow. Green
F#&!!!!
I believe that to have a life that blooms we cannot sweat the small stuff.
This was the small stuff and I was sweating. I didn’t want to feel this frustration. I didn’t want to show up to my friend feeling like the emoji. I wanted to be present. Happy. Relaxed. So something had to change. It wasn’t going to be the traffic light, so, it had to be the one thing I have control over… me. I had to change my mindset and it started with my words.
Language and words are powerful. They shape our energy, our mood, our day. The F-word is one of those words that is harsh. Angry. Sharp-edged. Negative. It’s a release, sure—but it keeps the heat in the moment. So I did something wild and crazy… I changed the word.
Instead of yelling the usual F-bomb…I belted out…
BUBBLES
Red. Yellow. Green.
Bubbles!
Red. Yellow. Green.
Bubbles!!
I felt ridiculous and probably looked pretty silly, but I didn’t care because it made me smile 😃. Bubbles! That smile turned into a chuckle. The chuckle turned into an honest-to-goodness belly laugh. I felt the tension melting from my body. The traffic was still there, but I wasn’t tangled in it anymore. I felt calm and marvelled at the people around me probably wondering, “that woman looks crazy laughing all by herself in her car, I wonder what is so funny?
BUBBLES!!!
Why does this work?
I asked the AI people “Why does a word like bubbles make us smile?” Her response;
“The physical act of forming the word ‘bubbles’ with your mouth and vocal cords involves soft, rounded movements. That contradicts the forceful tone of anger.
Words carry sound, rhythm, and emotion. Harsh-sounding words like truck, crash, or grit often have hard consonants (like “k” and “t”) that hits the ear like a drumbeat. They’re blunt and direct. On the other hand, whimsical words like bubbles, confetti, or twinkle are usually filled with soft syllables, open vowels, and airy consonants—they dance off your tongue like a skipping stone. Our brains respond not just to what words mean, but how they feel when we say or hear them.”
In other words… it’s hard to be furious while saying something so wonderfully silly.
Try it:
Something’s got you riled up—traffic, the weather, the never-ending winter… Take a deep breath, get mad and shout…
BUBBLES!
How did that feel? Did you feel the anger or did you smile? I bet you’re smiling. Get angry again and try these other whimsical words. Notice how your body feels when you say them out loud.
Sprinkles
Fluffy
Wiggles
Snuggle
Tickle
Pudding
Confetti
Fuzzle (real word? maybe not. Still works.)
I encourage you to scream “PILLOW!” the next time you stub your toe. Your toe might still hurt, but your spirit will feel a little lighter. Let’s create a whole new vocabulary of joyful curse words. Words that helps us bloom and just maybe will make our world a little lighter too.
A world of bubbles and giggles.
✍ Journal Prompt:
What is my personal “bubble” word and how am I going to use it?
