“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”~Buddha
Do you choose words with care when speaking to others? If so, do you choose the same when speaking to yourself? Have you ever noticed how the words we use towards ourselves influence our path and direction? Are we punishing and hurting ourselves?
There are indeed times when it is not what’s going on in the world or how others speak to us that hurts but how we speak to ourselves. Those words in our heads that invalidate and keep us in effort or on a quest for perfection. The words and thoughts that come up about how we feel about ourselves.
“What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself.”~Mark Twain
Our inner dialogues are those things we tell ourselves which shape our entire relationship with the world. When a child is bullied or called stupid or we see someone berated in public we rally in disgust and outrage yet are we using those very same punishing and hurtful words against ourselves? When was the last time you looked in the mirror without criticizing something? When was the last time you told yourself “great job” and held your head high and proud? When was the last time you said “I love you” to yourself?
The words we speak not only matter when speaking to others. Words matter when we speak to ourselves. It really doesn’t, matter if we speak those words out loud. It is the dialogue in our heads, our thoughts, that affect our actions and how we perceive or are perceived by the world. When we use punishing words against ourselves we are not in a space of compassion, love and forgiveness.
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”~Swami Vivekananda
Just as we listen to others, it’s time to listen to what we are saying to ourselves. Remember the old adage ‘engage brain before putting mouth in gear’? How about ‘think before you speak’? We carefully choose the words we say to others. It’s time we carefully choose the words we use toward ourselves.
As human beings we will make mistakes and occasionally say or do unkind things even though it was not intended. It is precisely those times we must learn to forgive and love ourselves again. Have a little compassion for your own human condition. We are all human. We all make mistakes and more importantly we are all learning.
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”~Buddha
I don’t suppose any of us can effectively stop those negative thoughts against ourselves but we can certainly pay attention and nip them in the proverbial bud before we become them. Never underestimate how thoughts and words affect and influence your life. Speak to yourself kindly with compassion, forgiveness and love.~Shine Your Light Debbie
©Debra Taitel 2014 All Rights Reserved
