- Encourage not Discourage
- Our words carry a significant impact on the way people view themselves
- If it’s not constructive criticism, it’s wrong to point out a person’s shortcomings
- Think before you speak
This quote is very straightforward and no in depth analysis is needed. It means, simply put, that if you don’t have anything positive or encouraging to say to someone, keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself. Understand that this is different from constructive criticism where your goal is trying to help the person by pointing out faults that you can identify in their work. This quote is talking about the instances where you try to intentionally bring someone down just because you can. In such cases, we think it’s best to think of a scenario where someone says that to you and how those words might make you feel. Everyone has been in the position where they have said something to someone that they ended up regretting. This quote is trying to help us avoid this whole situation by just keeping our thoughts to ourselves. No one, except the victim of your negativity, really understands or feels the full extent of your words. For instance, a simple phrase like “Those jeans look really tight on you” might make the individual suddenly feel insecure about their body and weight because to them, you might be implying that they are fat and as such cannot fit into those jeans. Meanwhile, you might have meant that in a playful joking manner. Nonetheless, think about the words that come out of your mouth before you say it.