Me and My Big Mouth

Have you ever opened your mouth and stuffed your own foot right in? I seem to do it all the time. I don't mean to offend people. And if I've ever offended any of you please take my deepest apologies.

In writing and blogging it's almost impossible to not offend someone. Your words are in the open space and everyone has a different lens through which they see life. So...people will disagree with even the most benign of statements, statements you thought no one could disagree with. If you say cats are great pets, someone will write to tell you the evils of cats. You can't guess everything others might take offense at, but there are some precautions you can take (and trust me I'm still learning this--I've seen very clearly in the past day how much I need to pay attention to this advice!)

1. Never write something and put it out there without time to reflect and come back. Often times just taking a break and coming back to your words with new perspective will help you see the other side of the story.

2. Write both sides if possible (even if you lean toward one perspective) when it isn't a moral issue. It's okay to have an opinion and to state it, but honest discussion is open discussion.

3. Listen to "checks" in your spirit. Often I have a niggling idea that what I'm writing could be misread, yet I ignore it and post or write anyway. This has come back to haunt me on more occasions than I can say. Learn to pay attention to that tiny voice--odds are it's giving you some good advice.

4. Let others write their opinions on your space, if you blog.

5. Be willing to edit/delete blogs where you are clearly wrong.

6. If you believe strongly in what you wrote stand behind your words. Don't apologize for them if you shouldn't. This might mean that people don't like you--you'll have to get used to this if you're putting yourself out there for the public. It's a hard thing for us people pleasers.

7. If you have a thin skin, don't be a writer or put your thoughts out for public discussion. Some people are downright cruel; they see what you wrote with sincerity through their own jaded eyes and write scathing reviews on Amazon. If you take these words to heart you'll end up feeling worthless and suicidal.

8. Remember the truth--(to paraphrase Brennan Manning) "There's nothing I can do to make God love me less and there's nothing I can do to make Him love me more." When you rest in this, even days spent with a foot in your mouth are worth living.

Hugs to all,
Traci