Children are known for saying what’s on their mind. They haven’t yet mastered the skills of being tactful and sometimes their opinions come out unfiltered. As we mature we learn about courtesy and are better able to speak our minds while considering the feelings of others.
Every thought and opinion that runs through our minds isn’t of equal value. Have you ever had a thought and then once you considered it, realized that it was a terrible idea? It’s our responsibility to weed out the terrible ideas before we speak them. If we speak every thought we have, we’ll end up saying a lot of things that shouldn’t have been said.
Are we doing a good job weeding out those thoughts before we speak them? We don’t need to look any further the current presidential campaign to say that we probably are not doing our best. Whether it is a candidate, news commentaries or social media posts, it doesn’t seem like we are as civil as we should be.
Maybe it’s because we’ve gotten lazy. Rather than taking the time and energy to think through our thoughts, we spit them out quickly and carelessly. Sure, it provides us with immediate gratification, but at what cost? Are we damaging relationships because of our desire to speak our mind?
Next time you are about to make a quick or heated response – give yourself time to consider your words. Make sure that what you are about to say reflects your values and what you want to be known for.
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