A story about the power of words.
Telly loved her life and was a happy tabby until she met the cats next door. Suddenly, everything changed as she questioned her own worth…
Being a domestic cat came with a lot of conveniences for Telly. She always had a safe and comfortable place to stay, along with catered meals each day. As a result, Telly never had to hunt for her own food, so she wasn’t quite as agile as the outdoor cats next door.
“You’re so slow, Telly,” quipped Norman, the Robinsons’ outdoor tabby. “What on earth do you spend your days doing?”
“Yeah, are you even really a cat?” asked Norman’s buddy, Karl, sarcastically.
Telly felt belittled and took their words to heart. She started looking in the mirror and telling herself how worthless she was. Those words of self-doubt started to grow roots in Telly’s mind and soon she started moping around in sadness.
Her owner, Kate, noticed a difference in Telly’s demeanor and picked her up with encouraging words. “My beautiful Telly, how you make my life complete!” Kate continued, “My days are so much brighter because you give the best cuddles and you’re so happy to see me when I get home from work.”
Right away, Kate’s warm words started to filter into Telly’s consciousness. And the more Kate showered her with compliments, the better she started to feel about herself.
Soon, Telly had only positive things to say to herself in the mirror. “I’m beautiful. I’m loved. I’m a good friend to Kate. I make Kate’s life complete.”
No longer were Norman and Karl able to bring her down with their criticisms. As long as she kept telling herself positive things, she knew that she would be okay.
Moral of the story: The positive or negative things that you declare about yourself become the things that define you.
Telly the Talking Tabby Self-Reflection
As a kitten, Telly was naïve to the negativity of the outside world. It was always just her and Kate, her owner, and all she knew was positivity in her life.
When she met Norman and Karl, her neighbor cats, they quickly opened her eyes to the insensitivity of the outside world.
Because of their unkind words to Telly, she soon started to view herself as less than the beautiful and kind cat that Kate always told her she was.
That negative energy filtered into her consciousness. She soon started developing low self-esteem, which manifested itself into self-defeating words she would utter at her reflection.
But then, she remembered all the good things that Kate said to her. Soon, the narrative in her mind changed and she started speaking positive things to her reflection again.
This story is probably reminiscent of experiences in your life. The outside world is so noisy and can easily make you feel like less than you are.
The onus is on you to change the narrative and speak affirmatively to yourself, about yourself. When said enough times, the words that you tell yourself are literally spoken into being. You become who you say you are because words are powerful.
When you look into the mirror each morning, consider all the beautiful things about yourself. Find the things that you love and the things that others love, too. Tap into the power of your own voice.
Focus on those things and watch how easily they intensify.
Use your words to lift yourself up. Brighter days are ahead the minute you flip the script.
Self-Reflection Questions:
- What are my most positive traits?
- How do I encourage myself whenever I am suffering from low self-esteem?
- Why is it important for me to speak kind words to others?