“Sticks and stones may break my bones,

But words will never hurt me.”

In my opinion, this long-standing nursery rhyme is simply not true. Words can do more than hurt people, they quite often can kill.

I just read a tragic article online about a teenager who committed suicide because of classmates sending tweets about this young girl who was deeply affected by the others words.

Words can steal hope, confidence and life at times.

Or

Words can heal by giving hope, confidence and life.

Let me clarify, it is the intent + the words that can steal or kill.

If we know that someone is for us then we are apt to listen to tough words because we know the challenge is meant for our highest possible good.

Conversely, if someone that we know is not for us, but is for themselves or possibly against us, then their words become like daggers to our soul.

Most of the time we know the difference by the vibe we get from a person and the history of that person towards us.

Our responsibility is to give words that heal, help, and serve. In order to be leaders worth following we must understand how our words sound or land on the person we are conversing with.

If you have a tendency with sarcasm, use discretion.

If you use a brief, sharp tone, try to give more support.

If you tend to yell, please rethink your strategy.

Equally important is the way you receive words.

If someone is for you and brings challenge to you, consider their words as possibly helping you by bringing wisdom or discernment.

If someone is not for you, consider the art of ignoring the comments as if they are baseless.

You and I have the power to bring words that heal or steal. We also have the power to receive good words and deflect evil words against us. That is up to you and me.

Let’s bring the right words knowing that words linger in the memory of those in our path.