Fr. Michael Schleupner, friend of the Center, is offering a series of posts about the power of words. Take a moment to read and think about the self-talk. Can you focus on the positive and find the joy today?
Words – 1
Dear Friends,
Last Sunday, my homily focused on the power of our words. Click here to read that post. Today I am sharing some additional comments on the same topic.
Besides the words that we speak to or about others, there are also words that we speak to ourselves. This is called self-talk – the things we say to ourselves, to our inner selves, often in silence or maybe even out loud if no one else is around. These words have an effect on us.
For example, if I fail a course in school, I may simply say to myself that I did not do well and that I need to get some help to learn that subject better. That kind of self-talk focuses more on my behavior, on what I did or now need to do. It will probably have a maturing and positive effect on me.
On the other hand, I could say to myself that I am failure and feel that I am a failure. This kind of self-talk is directed more to me personally and can have a harmful effect on my self-esteem and self-confidence.
So, we need to be careful even about the words that we speak to ourselves. They can move us forward positively or pull us down and hurt us. Besides that, our self-talk can easily overflow in how we talk to and about others. If I speak to myself with negative, hurtful words, it is likely that I will speak to others in the same way.
Please think about this;
“If we understand the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths. Our limitations and joys begin in our hearts.” – Betty Eadie
~Father Michael Schleupner
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