emotional awareness

Words Can Hurt And Words Can Heal

Words can build bridges.
Words can burn them down.

They can make someone feel seen, valued, loved—or they can tear open wounds that never fully heal. The truth is, words are some of the most powerful tools we have. And yet, many of us throw them around carelessly, forgetting that once spoken, they can’t be taken back.

We’re living in a world that feels more divided and reactive than ever. Which is why this matters so much: the way we speak—to others and to ourselves—matters. It always has. And it always will.

The Language of My Past

Before I began walking this path, I used words as weapons.
I used them to hurt, to manipulate, to control the narrative.

Even more painfully, I used them on myself. Quietly. Cruelly. I would tell myself I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t deserve love, that I was destined to fail. And those words? They stuck. They festered. They kept me small.

I remember being told early in my recovery that I had a barbed tongue. At the time, I almost wore it like a badge of honor—proof I could defend myself in any verbal battle. But really, I was just scared. I was always in fear. And fear made me lash out. It made me forget that love—real love—starts with what we say when no one else is listening.

The Way You Speak to Yourself Shapes Everything

If you wouldn’t say it to someone you love, why say it to yourself?

That was the question that changed everything for me. Because the truth is, we’re always listening to our own inner dialogue. And when we speak harshly to ourselves, our body, heart, and mind all take that in.

So I started small.
I started with one kind sentence a day.
Sometimes I didn’t believe it. Sometimes it felt fake.
But I kept going.

And eventually, those gentle words turned into something bigger: compassion. Forgiveness. Even love.

Speak Like It Matters—Because It Does

When I shifted the way I spoke to myself, something else changed: the way I spoke to others. And sometimes that was easier—giving kind words to others, even when I couldn’t give them to myself. But what I found is that the more kindness I gave away, the more I saw myself as someone capable of kindness. The cycle slowly started to shift.

Today, I try to ask myself before I speak:
Will these words hurt or heal?

That one question has the power to change a conversation. A relationship. A life. Let your words be the ones that bring light—not pain.

SLAY on.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Reflect & Rise

  • Do you pause before you speak, or do your words just pour out?

  • Have your words ever hurt someone you love? What happened?

  • How do you speak to yourself—especially when you’re struggling?

  • Can you remember a time when your words helped someone heal?

  • What would change if you made kindness your default language?

Call to Action: Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear from you.
What’s one small way you can use your words today to heal instead of hurt—either for yourself or someone else?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.

And if you know someone who’s been hard on themselves lately, send this to them.
Sometimes, the right words come at the right time—and change everything.

See With Your Eyes, Hear With Your Ears

I used to live with blinders on.
Not the kind you wear—but the kind you believe.

I only saw what I wanted to see. I filtered everything through my pain, my fear, and the false narratives I told myself over and over again. If I thought I was a bad person, I looked for proof. If I believed I was unlovable, I focused on every moment that could validate that. If I thought life was unfair, I zeroed in on all the ways I’d been wronged.

I wasn’t seeing the truth—I was seeing my trauma.
And I was listening through it too.

A Filtered Life Isn’t a Full Life

When we don’t see with our eyes and hear with our ears—when we see and hear through the noise of our past or our pain—we miss what’s right in front of us. We convince ourselves of stories that may not be true. We act on distorted feelings. And slowly, we begin to disconnect from reality, from the people around us, and from ourselves.

That’s where I was before I began this path.

My perspective was warped. My sense of truth was tangled in denial and self-destruction. But I couldn’t live that way anymore. And when I started my recovery journey, the very first thing I had to do was get honest—with myself, and with the world around me.

The Moment I Took the Blinders Off

Truth didn’t come all at once—it came in pieces.
Each time I stripped away a lie I had believed, the world became clearer. Each time I sat in the discomfort of a moment instead of running from it, I reclaimed a little more power. I learned how to be present, how to focus on what was right in front of me, and how to listen with compassion.

That’s when I stopped reacting and started responding.

Because here’s what I know now:
We can’t live fully if we’re not looking and listening fully.

The Danger of Disengaging

It’s easy to get lost in our distractions—our phones, our playlists, our screens. But when we do that, we cut ourselves off from the life happening around us.
We ignore truth.
We disconnect from others.
We retreat into the stories we already believe.

But life isn’t meant to be background noise.
It’s meant to be lived, seen, heard, and felt.
And the only way we can do that is by taking off the blinders.

Choose to Show Up

When we truly see and hear what’s happening around us, something shifts. We become part of the world again. We stop reacting through old patterns and start participating in real connection. We begin to move with clarity and intention.

Let go of the need to be right.
Let go of the comfort of the old narrative.
And open yourself to what is actually real, here, now.

Because your truth lives in the present.
All you have to do is look. And listen.

SLAY on.

SLAY OF THE DAY: Reflect & Rise

Are you seeing and hearing the truth—or just what you’ve trained yourself to expect?

  • Do you move through life fully engaged, or are you walking with emotional blinders on?

  • What truths might you be avoiding? What stories do you replay that might not be real?

  • How does this affect your relationships? Your inner peace?

  • When’s the last time you truly paused, took in your surroundings, and responded instead of reacting?

Challenge yourself to listen differently.
Look deeper.
And live fully.

Call to Action: Join the Conversation

I’d love to hear from you.
What’s something you’ve learned to see clearly—once you stopped seeing it through the lens of your past?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.

And if you know someone who might be stuck in an old story, send this to them.
Sometimes, truth is what sets us free—but only when we choose to see it.