Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones,
but Words Will Never Hurt Me

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!” That was the battle cry most of us gave after the schoolyard bully or a sibling would tease us “back in the day,” as kids today like to say. 

 

The point of this old adage is this: What others say doesn’t matter. And it shouldn’t. Yet, too often it does matters. The truth is, words can hurt you and sometimes much more than a good beating. Cuts and bruises can heal fast, but the wounds created by harsh, tormenting words can remain in our thoughts forever, especially when repeated over and over and over again.

 

In his book What Do You Say When You Talk To Yourself, Shad Helmstetter wrote that “something said, and something said, and something said, then becomes a belief.”  And often the messages are so subtle we never realize what is happening. We don’t realize that those words become the basis for much our self-talk. Even though the initial verbal beating is over, we continue the damage with our self-talk.

 

Stop the beatings now. Pay attention to your self-talk; to the chatter that is continually going on in your head; to the chatter that creates fears and doubts; the chatter that stops us from becoming who we are or who we were meant to be.

It doesn’t need to be the Lenten season or the start of a new year to make a resolution. Resolve today to give up listening to the negative self-talk. Give yourself an early Christmas gift or birthday present. Realize that you are a capable human being, that you have a gift that is different from any other person's gift. Use it…don't be afraid of it… and don't listen to the voices of others in your head…Replace that voice with your own.

 

As Stuart Smalley (a.k.a. Al Franken) said in the movie Stuart Saves His Family, “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!”

 

You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!