Weekly: Your words matter
Has someone ever said something cruel to you, something that seared itself into your brain, something that you have carried with you ever since that moment?
"You can't play with us."
"You'll never make it."
"You're embarassing."
These words ring in our ears for years, because we aren't just human beings made of flesh and bone. We are human beings who are made of words, shaped by what is said to us both by other people and by ourselves.
Through your words, you hold an unbelievable power to help create human beings who feel free, loved, and worthy — and this is a power you can use for yourself, too.
Take care,
Stephanie Harrison, founder of The New Happy
This Week
Think about the last time that you complimented someone and what happened to them physically. Their eyes lit up, their face broke into a shining smile, they stood stronger and taller, and they were filled with a new, palpable form of energy.
Now, think about the last time that you saw someone being hurt by another's words. Their eyes go flat, their face falls, and they shrink into themselves. You can see the ways in which they have been crushed.
When you speak to yourself, you aren't able to see these physical reactions to kindness or to cruelty—but, rest assured, they are happening within you. Bit by bit, you might be diminishing yourself without even knowing it.
It serves absolutely no one to have you be diminished. It's your expanded self that will bring you joy and well-being, that will be capable of creating strong relationships with others, that will be able to do the most good in the world.
Here are five New Happy affirmations you can start to use with yourself:
I have so much to share with the world.
I do not need to do more and more.
I deserve love and compassion.
I am here to be my biggest self.
I am enough, exactly as I am.
(You can download these in a wallpaper here!)
More Tips and Tools
1. Feelings come & go — This week's animation.
2. What do you expect? — You can't be perfect.
3. You're always evolving — Stay in motion.
4. It will be a memory — This will pass.
5. Grief is not straightforward — Don't judge yourself for your journey.
Or listen to the podcast episodes (Apple, Spotify) from this week!
Community
What's a sentence you wish someone would say to you?
"I love you unconditionally, just the way you are!"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"I'm here for you, no matter what, and always will be."
"You don't have to do it all."
“I’d like you to take the day off and focus on only you.”
Inspiration
1. 16 dishes to make for someone going through a hard time (NYT) — A wonderful way to care for someone in your life.
2. The incredible story of new Nobel Prize Winner Katalin Karikó (BBC) — If you have a vision that other people don't seem to grasp, please draw courage from this incredible story!
3. The butterflies of Liberia: transforming the lives of former child soldiers (Positive News) — "Life became clearer for me. I saw that who I am was different to what had happened to me."
Before You Go
No spam, just joy.
