Power of Words

Words that we tell ourselves has so much power to shape our day. If we continually revert to negative, uncaring, and unloving words, it can profoundly affect our mindset. 

When I was about 4 years old, I used to play with my older cousin brothers. They were much taller and boisterous. One afternoon, while they were all running, I followed as well. It looked like so much fun when they jumped over a huge drain and were cheering each other. Obviously, I wanted to jump too; and I did. However, unknown to them and me, my little legs were not long enough to make the jump, and I fell through.

My mum was devastated as the accident had caused my knee to dislocate, and I was in a cast for a considerable amount of time. Since then, my parents and close relatives were extremely protective of me. I didn't really have physiotherapy back then; it was just a matter of cast off, gentle exercises, and check-ups to ascertain there wasn't any further damage. 

My mum especially took it real hard and she was determined to keep my safe from further injuries. Unbeknown to her, the label "clumsy" was then formed. This label stuck with me for most of my life, all through adolescence, into my adult life, after getting married. My husband started saying I am clumsy when I tripped. I was angry and frustrated despite being extra cautious, I would always stumble or slip. After we adopted our children, bad luck struck again - I fell down the stairs, hit my knee and cut at back of my head. It was a spectacular tumble! The doctors were amazed that I hadn't broken any bones and had to send me to take several X-rays to confirm.

As I started working on myself these past few years, slowly but surely, without blaming anyone I understood the circumstances of my childhood.

I reworded "clumsy" to "careful" and even if my old thoughts were "clumsy" I kept saying "careful."  The power of words does have affects on our thoughts, and hey I'm human, that doesn't mean I have to carry these labels that help me. I have the power to choose the words that empower me.