I want to explore how subtle shifts in language can completely transform the way we experience growth and healing.
So often,
Growth is framed as something we need to work on,
Improve,
Or fix.
Without realizing it,
We begin relating to ourselves as projects rather than living,
Learning human beings.
We start monitoring ourselves,
Evaluating ourselves,
And measuring where we fall short.
But imagine if someone else walked up to you and started pointing out all of your flaws.
Imagine if they spoke to you as if you were a problem to solve or a project to improve upon.
Most of us would want to run for the hills.
We would not tolerate that kind of relationship for very long.
And yet,
Many of us unknowingly relate to ourselves in that exact way.
This shows up clearly in our language.
Saying something like,
I need to improve this,
Or I should be better at this,
Often carries an unspoken message underneath it.
A message that says something is wrong right now.
Something is not enough yet.
And parts of us hear that.
Our body hears that.
When healing is approached as something that needs to be fixed or corrected,
Resistance naturally arises.
And resistance is exhausting.
It's like swimming upriver without a paddle.
So much effort and so much strain.
Acceptance,
On the other hand,
Is like letting yourself float with the current.
Far less energy and far more ease.
And paradoxically,
That is where growth actually happens.
This shift begins with language.
Language is incredibly powerful.
Even the word spelling comes from the root word spell.
When we speak,
We are quite literally casting a spell on our inner world and our reality,
Over and over again.
So instead of saying,
I need to improve at this skill,
We might say,
Wow,
I'm growing every day in this,
Or I'm curious about learning more here.
You can feel the difference between those two statements.
One tightens the body and the other creates space.
And this matters because we are with ourselves more than anyone else in the world.
We speak to ourselves more than anyone else ever will.
So the tone and the language of that relationship shape whether our system feels safe enough to open or not.
When the body feels safety rather than pressure,
Deeper parts of us naturally come forward.
Growth unfolds without force,
And healing happens without resistance.
Instead of treating ourselves as something to be fixed,
We can stay open to the possibility of growing more and more every day.
Not because we are lacking,
But because growth is what living things naturally do when they are met with care.
And that shift begins simply by noticing how we speak to ourselves.
