Weigh your words, but don’t edit your ‘self’

Photo by Artem Pechenkin on Unsplash

The advice…

Weigh your words. But don’t edit your ‘self’.

Where it’s coming from…

Words carry meaning. That’s why I firmly believe in weighing your words before they leave your mouth, making sure they’re respectful and not hurtful - unless they really, really need to be.

But that doesn’t mean editing who you are. It doesn’t mean staying silent when something matters. And it certainly doesn’t mean holding back your real thoughts - whether it’s an opinion at work or an honest conversation with a friend.

I believe this applies to all areas of life. Many of us were raised to “be quiet,” “respect authority,” “don’t answer back,” or “keep it to ourselves.” But what if we flipped that script? What if we rewired ourselves to “speak up”, “question respectfully”, “contribute to the conversation”, and “share our thoughts”?

After all, this can only benefit relationships: Sharing ideas at work helps colleagues, being honest with a friend offers support, and being open with a partner fosters genuine connection.

Words carry weight - but they’re also vessels. Vessels that, together with our actions, communicate who we are. And if we want to show up authentically, we need to be open to expressing what’s really going on in our minds - respectfully.