Can They Hear Your Voice?

Author
Susan Shaw, Owner Shaw Insurance Agency

​Words have POWER!  Recently I was at a conference with a well known speaker and he posed a question during his Keynote Speech.  “Can They Hear Your Voice?”   Now, honestly this could be talking about a number of things.  Can they hear my voice about what?  Who is “they” anyway?   So, I got to thinking about this.
I have 2 adult children now, so I asked them.  I asked my older son what sayings he remembered me saying when he was growing up.  I was a little scared to ask!  He promptly came up with a couple!  “Don’t ever throw the first punch” and “Don’t ever start it, but if it starts, then you better finish it!”  While I would like to think I had other words of wisdom for him growing up, it does appear that he heard my voice and still remembers it!  So, I guess I’ll call that Success!

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My daughter is a few years younger than my son and so I asked her.  Here are a few examples of the voice she hears. “Shopping solves everything!”,  “It doesn’t cost anything to be nice!” “”Dream big baby!”, “Keep pushing – don’t let all your hard work go to waste“, “Trust God’s plan” and my often spoken “Do I need lips?”!  Haha – that one is so true!  She also added one she heard me talk about my dad always saying “There’s more than one way to skin a cat!”  (PETA and other pet lovers, please don’t send me ugly mail about that!)

My favorite from both my kids was the many times spoken and / or sung “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” Thank you for hearing my heart and not that I sing off key!
From coaches along the way when my daughter was a young soccer player regarding skills “What you do with your right, you do with your left” – as a result of that one, she was able to play all the way through college at a top D-1 school (Gig ‘em Ags!) and proficient with both feet!  That was a great one to hear!  Another good one was “Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent.”  So true.

From my younger days growing up, I can still hear my Father “Times may change, but morals never do” and the ever popular “Birds of a feather flock together” and from my Mother “Well if they all jumped off a bridge, would you?”

The voice of a dear friend is often heard proclaiming  “Something gooooooooood is going to happen to you today!”

Here is my point – we all have sayings, good or bad, that we use all the time.  Those that hear your voice, does it come across as positive, encouragement, wisdom or is it cutting and hurtful?  Are you speaking into existence things that will help your family, friends and co-workers or are you busy cutting them down to make yourself feel better?  Unfortunately, it seems the negative things we hear are the ones that tend to run like a worn out record set to replay over and over again.

Yes, words have power and you can’t take them back!  Once they are out of your mouth….they gone!  The fallout can destroy relationships between spouses, parents, siblings, friends and co-workers.

​So be careful with your words, my friends.  When you are angry or upset, be careful how you speak to others.  There is potential long term damage and irrepairable relationship damages that can happen.  Lift up your family, your friends, your teammates and your co-workers.  Bosses, be careful with your words.

CAN THEY HEAR YOUR VOICE?   It is up to you every day to determine what voice they hear.  When you are gone, whose voice will they hear?  What will your legacy say about you and how you made them feel.  It really is your choice my friend.  Choose wisely.