The things we need to hear

If you take a minute and think about all of the everyday phrases uttered by the people in your life, they might appear ordinary and lack luster. Good morning, good night, have a great weekend, I miss you, I love you, great job, congratulations, thanks, you’re amazing…it can go on and on.  One might think that the person who says all these things might not mean them the way they did the first few times. Or that the person who hears them doesn’t need to hear them so much anymore.

But the power of positive words, and the meaning behind repetition, emphasis, and affirmation of even a simple, maybe obvious statement, is sometimes beyond words.

In life, there are so many things that cause us stress, concern, and fuel intense emotions. It might be a life change, an overwhelming situation at work, or relationship issues. It may be our health, bad weather (multiple snowstorms, anyone?), or financial issues.

But imagine in the midst of all your overwhelming moments at work, you get some simple praise from a coworker or your boss, for something you wouldn’t have even thought worthy. Or maybe your best friend reminds you that he or she is here for you through your fights with your significant other – here whether you need her or not. And what if just when you thought that maybe a relationship was perhaps at a stopping point and that it is all for naught, your person, your other half, lays out their insecurities for you — and then declares that it’s all worth it to be with you.

The things we need to hear are often simple, inelegant — things we already know. But no matter how many times we’ve heard them, no matter how it’s said, they have the power to be mood-changing, day-changing, life-changing — if we let them.