Everything you say has an impact on others.

I’ll never forget time I was walking through waiting room where I worked; there was a patient sitting there, looking very unhappy. So I smiled at her as I walked by. On my way back through waiting room 15 minutes later, she said to me, “thank you for that smile. It brightened my day.” A simple little thing, almost unconscious on my part, and yet it meant so much to her.

That was almost 10 years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. That smile changed both of us; it had a positive impact on her, and her reaction had a major impact on me. It made me realize how much we affect each other as we move through our individual lives. And most of time we’re totally unaware of it.

During an especially difficult time in my life I was attending a professional meeting, and my supervisor stated to group that I had a “hardwiring problem.” I felt embarrassed, chagrined, and aghast that she felt that way and would say it in front of other people, who were then drawing erroneous conclusions about who I was! For years afterward, any time I had difficulty grasping a concept, I would flashback to her saying that about me, and I’d think that maybe it was true. Maybe I wasn’t like others, maybe I just didn’t “get it.”

Words are very powerful. They can affect you long after they’ve been said. They can change way you see yourself. Words can be bullets or shelters, rocks or loving arms.