"Harsh words can hurt a person more than physical pain. – Taste your own words before you spit them out. Words hurt and scar more than you think, so THINK before you speak. And remember, what you say about others also says a whole lot about YOU."
(Source: http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/06/13/15-relationship-truths-for-tough-times/ )
True words that come at a time when both sides of the message are needed.
We try to brush off the words that others throw at us, to say "oh well", but it is easier said than done. Words have a way of creeping in under your defenses and eating away at your idea of yourself. Enough words, and you begin to ponder if the issue isn't the person saying them but yourself. It is oh so easy to lash back, to get angry and point fingers, to lay blame at the feet of all and none at ones own. What we hurl at others or what we say of others behind their backs is a reflection of our own issues, and that goes for the way we respond too. One should not allow someone to walk all over them, but sometimes it is best to simply state your peace and walk away from it all. There is no point in engaging in verbal warfare. Take claim of the things you may have said or done to cause pain to others, see that they too have their own to claim and leave it at that.
Someone's opinion of you should not matter. It does, I know. We are raised to believe that what others see in us is the standard by which we should judge ourselves. But I think we have to work on making our own opinion of ourselves the more important one. Not in an arrogant way, but in a way where we can be comfortable knowing that some people will not like us. That our priorities are important to us and shouldn't be pushed to the side in favor of another's. That we are important and worthy of our own time.
