Can Words Really Hurt You? Part II

I read an article the day. The author stated that “words” can not hurt you. He goes on to clarify that it’s our perception of the meanings of the words that we allow to hurt us …

Yesterday I told you why I disagree with what has to say … Now I’ll tell you why I agree ….

In his article he states that if someone you love was calling you names in a language you didn’t understand, your feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

Well, naturally if we don’t understand something it doesn’t affect us. I also think that the actions of the person would speak to us. If they sounded angry or was yelling, we would be confused as to “what is wrong”. But the actual words couldn’t hurt us.

One of the reasons that I agree with the author in question, is due to my favorite quote ….

“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Think about it. We give others a great stronghold over us. If they call us names, or say hurtful things to us and we take it to heart – then in essence we give them permission to hurt us.

If someone you didn’t like came up to you and said “That was a real stupid thing to do”. You might get angry at them but more than likely you’d shrug it off and say that person doesn’t know me from Adam – where’s he get off telling me anything.

On the other hand, if someone you loved and respected said “That was a real stupid thing to do”, you would be more inclined to take it to be true. It might hurt you and you might feel inferior for what you have done – or worse you might feel like you’ve let down the person you love.

The most important thing to remember is that you are human. You will make mistakes – That’s the only way that we grow.

Learn to Love yourself unconditionally. Accept yourself for whom you are. And don’t give anyone else permission over your feelings or your life.

Bottom Line: Words can and do hurt many people. They only stop hurting when we learn to take control of our lives and develop a healthy self-esteem.