Say It Out Loud

I've been thinking lately about the power that comes from saying something out loud. It's one of the many reasons coaching can make a difference. As I think back in my life, the feelings about phases I was going through stick in my memory because I had voiced them to a friend, colleague, or coach at the time. I notice that the essence of what I remember about my situation matches what I had shared out loud.

For example, I remember when my son was first born and feeling overwhelmed and tired from having a baby and a three year old. I remember saying to people that I looked forward to having a 3 and a 6 year old.

I remember telling colleagues that starting up my business again after an extended maternity leave felt like digging myself out of a well.

The point here isn’t about having powerful memories. Rather, the reason I’m able to remember these things is because saying these things out loud gave them power, and that power helped them stick in my memory. But the power is also helpful at the present moment. Saying a thought out loud make it more conscious so we can hold it up for examination. Thoughts that resonate when said out loud gain a stronger sense of truth. Thoughts to which we react negatively when said out loud can then be unpacked more thoroughly. Language becomes a vehicle for raising awareness and finding ourselves.

Sometimes clients will remark at a new perspective they have just by hearing themselves say something out loud. The thought now has more consciousness for them. They’ve also begun the process of freeing themselves from a limiting belief just by saying it out loud.

Has saying something out loud ever made you cry?
. . . ever compelled you to act?
. . . ever surprised or scared you?
. . . ever given you a new perspective?
. . . ever helped you feel like you belonged in a group?

Expressing ourselves out loud is one reason why being in a community, partnership, or coaching relationship helps us find our most authentic self. This is one way that relationships are mirrors.