SPEAK KINDLY, LIVE BRIGHTLY

🗣️ How we speak matters. How we speak to others matters. But most importantly, how we speak to ourselves matters.  Our words reach beyond our awareness, affecting everything around us. Negative self-talk is destructive, contagious, and deafening. It transcends from us and permeates far beyond our senses. 🗣️

🥀 I for one have not always been kind to myself. I have told myself lies and at times believed them. I have judged myself and viewed myself as unbecoming of any human decency. I have also said to myself that I couldn’t do it, that I would fail, and that I was not enough in EVERY arena of my life. As a daughter, spouse, mother, sibling, friend, niece, cousin, professional, caregiver, aunt, and beyond, this negative voice soon becomes an action, further morphing into a reaction. It clouds our judgment, and angers our core, yet, in the silence we listen. We believe.

🤗  Dearest friends, 🤗

I ask this of you. The next time that unkind voice is driving your lack of confidence, your fears, and your insecurities to the forefront of your mind, 🚦 STOP! 🚦

STOP  AND  BREATHE. 

⏰ Then ask yourself this: Would I tell those closest to me, those I love and cherish most in this world, those who I support and encourage, those dearest to my heart; “You’re completely right, loved and cherished one, you’ll never make it, you don’t have what it takes so just give up. You’re too ugly, too fat, and too dumb. You are inept, unreliable, insecure, incapable and it’s just NEVER going to happen for you. Just quit!” OF COURSE NOT!  ⏰

🌷Instead, you would encourage them, uplift them, and support them. You would be their soft place to land. You would offer an outstretched hand to pull them up, to push them forward, to hold them, and catch them when they fall. Undoubtedly, you would be their biggest cheerleader and greatest coach, propelling them forward into a space that serves them. You would be a voice of vision that brings light and clarity. You would provide them a calm listening ear so that reaction no longer exists and healthy responses move to the forefront. 🌷

💡Remember, REACTION often comes from a place of fear. It paralyzes our ability to actively listen and truly hear. It erases our capacity to consider our options with serious and careful thought leaving us ruminating. This repetitive dwelling on negative feelings of distress has consequences.

It robs us of our ability to prioritize, contribute, communicate, and compromise. When we practice speaking to ourselves kindly, we practice PEACE. We practice developing a love for ourselves despite our shortcomings. It is in this practice, we learn to RESPOND. 💡

🌱 Responses are solution-oriented. Responses seek to improve situations. Responses are thought out and intentional. Responses are imperative for communication and conflict resolution with others, BUT most importantly with ourselves. 🌱

💕 🔦 ❤️ SO, in a nutshell …How we speak matters. Be kind, to yourself and others. Practice gratitude. Practice forgiving yourself, loving yourself, and showing yourself kindness. This practice will cultivate a positive mindset which will undoubtedly exude into all areas of your life. This practice will strengthen your communication skills with yourself and others allowing you to respond with courtesy, grace, and forward thinking. Choose LOVE and LIGHT always! Then your path will never remain unseen in the dark. 💕 🔦 ❤️