Decluttering Our Words

Lately I’ve been working on talking to myself with more patience and kindness. Life is usually hectic this time of year, and not only do I declutter my calendar, but I am decluttering my words.

You’ve probably heard someone caution you about overusing the word, “should,” for self-kindness. That’s one word we can rephrase into, “It might be nice if . . .” instead.

Sometimes I go into all-or-nothing thinking and see myself as having failed at something even if I’ve succeeded in some ways. It can be helpful to declutter the words, “I failed,” and insert “I learned x, y, and z.”

The next time you catch your inner voice denigrating yourself, consider pausing and saying to yourself, “Let’s try that again in a nice way.”