Confession:  I love a good quote.

I have a special folder in the pictures file on my laptop dedicated to quotes and they regularly pop up as part of my random screensaver.  My biggest Pinterest board by far is the one entitled ‘Inspirational Quotes’.  I’ve even been known to use one or two on blogs 😉

When I was in middle school I was never part of the ‘popular group’ of fellow students.  I longed to be, but I simply wasn’t cool enough.  So instead I worked hard and made real friends who are still an incredibly important part of my life to this day.  Because I always did well in tests, and got big green ticks on my homework, I got taunted for being a ‘boff’.  I have a memory (disclaimer: I have absolutely no idea how true/accurate it is) of me being circled in the playground by a group of classmates chanting that word at me over and over and over.  I stood in the centre of this circle, tears streaming down my face, but still defiantly replying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will NEVER hurt me”.

How wrong was I?

That word haunted me for the rest of my years in education.  I wanted to do well because I knew I was capable of it, and I wanted to do something interesting and useful with my life.  But I lived in fear of being exiled for my intelligence.  It felt like I couldn’t win either way.  Thankfully I carried on working hard, the pull of perfectionism outweighing the desire to be accepted (though eventually, that brought it’s own problems).

Words are more powerful than many people think.

I know this both from personal experience (as described above) and from working with pretty much every single client in my therapist history.  Everyone has a story to tell about how words hurt them, intentionally or otherwise.  It’s so easy to let words tumble out of your mouth without thinking, completely unaware of the effect they can have on a person.

So where am I going with this?

Watch this, and I’ll explain:

 

I started thinking… if negative words can have such a powerful effect on people, surely it must be the same in reverse?

Words can be powerful in positive ways too.

~  I love you

~  I believe in you

~  I see you

~  I trust you

For me, those four short sentences carry vast amounts of power.  They are life-changing words when used at the right moment.  I try to say them as often as I can to each of my girls.

Quotes are powerful too.  I have a head full of quotes that I regularly use within the therapy room with my clients.  I don’t even have to think about them any more – they are just a natural part of my conversations because they have become so ingrained in my belief system.

So I started wondering what my favourite quote would be, if I had to choose one…

I couldn’t narrow it down to just one, so here are a few of my most turned-to quotes on days where I’ve needed some positive words:

1.  Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful

 

2. Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying “I will try again tomorrow”

 

3.  Always do what you are afraid to do

 

4.  It always seems impossible until it is done.

 

5.  I am not what happened to me.  I am what I choose to become.

 

I’d love to find out your favourite quotes – please do leave them below as a comment.  And do bear in mind that your words might give someone else the lift they needed today.

Your words might be life-changing.

Feel free to share this post with anyone you think might find it interesting / useful / uplifting.

Thank you for reading 🙂

 

 

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