How many of you can honestly put your hands up and say you think before you speak?…every time?
I am sure an extremely high percentage, if not all individuals at some point in their life will have said something without thinking first. Mulling over the conversation later, then comes the thought…”oh no, what have I said?”
I will admit, I can think of times I have spoken before thinking – during an argument with a friend for one. No I don’t think of myself as a confrontational person, this was a one off, but I said whatever came out and didn’t think.
Thinking before you speak is such an important quality, one we should all consider as to whether we do enough.
Thinking before you speak can:
- Ensure you’re not waffling on
- Ensure you’re speaking the same language or on the same subject – answering questions correctly
- Save your words from hurting someone
Recently I was in the gym after a workout, stretching out in the seated area before my walk home. One of the gym instructors came over to the two girls I was with and myself and started to talk about the weight loss programme they were running, trying to sell it to us. Both girls I was with did not need to worry about losing weight, in fact one is trying to build muscle, and I also believe I do not need to drastically lose weight – I go to the gym a lot to be able to enjoy life, feel energetic and get toned.
After this approach by the gym instructor we all felt a little personally attacked. The thoughts of going home and not wanting to eat were actually voiced! Crazy I know!
I doubt the gym instructor even really thought about it before he started talking (he was just trying to sell) and this just shows how much speaking before thinking can really affect someone. If any of us had overcome some sort of eating problem, I’m sure it could have kicked it back into play.
It’s just so important, especially in today’s society where people are already vulnerable. Did you know around one fifth of UK adults suffer anxiety or depression (according to the Office for National Statistics, 2013)? That’s such a large number of the population!
Do you know have many experiences like this? Or are you a person who regularly speaks before you think?
How do you think we can exercise thinking first more?
Chloe xx
