Are you diminishing yourself by the words you choose? I certainly was, but I will no longer do that to myself now that I am aware.

Do you use these words: Just, Brief(ly), Hope(fully) Kinda/Sorta, and Lil’ bit? If you do, please stop! You are minimizing your worth with every use.

How many of us have started an email with this line, “I’ll be brief” or “I just want to ask one quick question and hopefully not take up too much of your time!” You are telling the other person their time is more valuable than your time and you are not worthy of anything other than a “brief” moment. “Kind of/Sort of” and “Lil’ bit” are used more in our speech than they are in our written work, but they also reduce our worth and represent us in a small, unimportant way.

Imagine a president. Any president, whether it be of a country or a corporation. Imagine him or her saying, “I will be brief, I just want a moment of your time,” or “Hopefully, we will be able to win this war/campaign.” You cannot imagine it because it would never happen. They command our attention, own the space, and deliver their message. We can and should do the same.

Stop hoping, hope is not a strategy for success. We can hope the Phillies win the World Series because that is out of our control, but in our life, we must stop hoping, and start making a plan, and doing. Today, I am asking all of us to declare our worth. We must stop using these words. If you choose to be brief in an email, then be brief, but do not diminish yourself by saying so or qualifying.

So, hopefully you kinda sorta understood what I briefly wrote. I just wanted a little bit of your time, I hope that was ok? Never again will we diminish ourselves in any way, especially with the words we choose. We are important, we are worthy, and we are valuable. Own it!

With Gratitude,

Beth