Before you speak think……
Is it true?
Is it helpful?
Is it inspiring?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
In today’s blog post I want to share why I believe these tips are soo important!
Have you ever said something and then thought “Oh shoot! I probably shouldn’t have said that!”
Or “I didn’t mean it to sound like that.”
For me, this has happened on several occasions.
As an extrovert, I love being around people! Being around people gives me energy and lights me up! 😁
When I am around people, I get all excited and start talking away…..oftentimes a mile a minute.
Sometimes when I am blabbering away, I say something that comes across in a manner I didn’t intend.
When I first heard the “Before you speak, think…..Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?” I initially thought “Oh WOW!! That is SOO true and SOO good! I have to remember that!”
But before I knew it, I was back to talking a mile a minute and saying things in a way that I didn’t mean.
I think I’m going to put the “Before you speak, think….” quote on a sticky note on the mirror in my bathroom, so that I will be reminded of it every morning when I wake up.
Or maybe I can put a sticky note with that quote on the dashboard of my car, so that when I look at my speed or go to put the car in drive or reverse, I will see it multiple times during my drive.
Another thought would be to put a sticky note with that quote on the refrigerator door. You know for a fact that I will be visiting my refrigerator several times throughout the day. 😂😂
Can you think of another awesome place to put a sticky note with that phrase, so that you can see it frequently every day?
Or maybe you are more of an introvert and so you already are very careful about the words you choose to say. If that is the case, then good for you! 😊
But for all those other extroverts out there, I think it may be super helpful if we constantly remind ourselves to slow down for a second before we speak and think….
Is it true?
Is it helpful?
Is it inspiring?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
Just think…..if everyone in the world thought through those questions every single time before speaking, we would probably have at least 80% of marriages NOT ending in divorce, less cases going to court, less fights in general and happier lives all in all…..wouldn’t you agree?
Once something is said, once it is out there.....you can't really take it back.
Sure, you can apologize and try your best to explain that you didn’t mean it like that or that you didn’t mean to hurt their feelings, but the reality is, once something is said, you can’t really take it back.
As I said earlier…..I absolutely LOVE people!! I would never want to hurt someone's feelings. But the truth is, I know that I have hurt people's feelings from things I have said. I’ve apologized and asked them to forgive me and almost always they do, because they know me. They know my heart. They know I really care about them and would never try to hurt them in any way.
But the fact still remains that because I was so quick to speak, I ended up saying things I wish I hadn’t.
So in conclusion….I guess the lesson I am hoping to share here is that it only takes a second to stop and think twice about what it is we want to say and if it passes the above “Before you speak, think” test….then by all means GO FOR IT!! 😊
However…..
if it isn’t entirely true….
If it isn’t going to help anyone by saying it…..
If it isn’t going to inspire anyone….
If it isn’t really necessary to say in the first place….
If it isn’t a kind thing to say….
Then my suggestion, my tip for today would be to reconsider if you really want to say it.
Or at least consider if you could rephrase it so that it would meet the criteria of the quote above.
Sound like a plan?
Great! 😊👍
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below...
~ If you are a parent of a special needs child, I would Love to have you in my private FB group. It is a safe environment, strictly for parents with special needs kids, where you can get the encouragement and support from other parents who can relate to what you are going through. The name of my private FB group is “Special Needs Parenting SOS.” ~ 😇💕
#think #thinkfirst ##beforeyouspeak #speak #true #helpful #inspiring #necessary #kind #wordsareimportant #wordscanhurt #becarefulwhatyousay #bekind #bethoughtful #behelpful