Yes, you read that right. And I did mean that McDonalds. The one with all the monolithic corporate infra-structure and the court cases in its past. The trouble is, I suspect they might be making a contribution to personal development…albeit, most probably, an inadvertent one.

Let me explain. At the heart of my point is their slogan,”I’m lovin’ it,” complete with that irritating  jingly meme, that’s designed, in a few notes, to bore their new and dubious connection with “love”,  into your unconscious mind. (Still not looking all the great on the personal development front, is it? Hang on in there with me…).

The thing is, at least here in the UK, the advert is so prevalent, that it’s beginning to have an effect on people’s language patterns. We always used to say, “I love X, ” or “I like Y.” And sometimes, we still do.

But more and more, I’m  hearing (and there it is again!) people, on TV and in real life, say, “I’m  loving X”, or “I’m liking Y,” about something that’s going on right in front of them.
If you subscribe to the idea that language patterns go on to affect thoughts and feelings, the effect of this new language usage is to put the speaker of the words in touch with what’s happening  for them right now. In other words, they become “more present”. Since becoming, “more present” is one of the age-old keys to personal development (and something that lots of us, including me,  still find pretty challenging), McDonalds could therefore, be said to be serving up something quite useful.

An experiment

If you’re sceptical about this, try an experiment for yourself. Think about something or someone you know that you truly do love in life, right now. Just to be unoriginal, that “something or someone” is “X” in the two sentences that follow.

Say to yourself, “I love X,” and notice how you feel.

Then (and preferably after giving yourself a little shake, to neutralise your system) say to yourself, “I’m loving X,” being equally aware of how you feel. Compare the two states for yourself, though I’m guessing (!) that there may well be a difference for you.

Does this development serve us?

Given that it’s probably pretty unlikely that those beneath the golden arches ever set out to make people more “present,” and in touch with themselves, what are we to make of this development? Should we refuse to use the language construction that’s in vogue, just because of where it’s come from, and potentially miss out getting, “present,” more easily? Or should we just accept that the universe sometimes moves in mysterious ways?

Myself, I’ll do the latter. Though I’m also still “lovin’” being a liberal vegetarian, thanks very much…