W.A.I.T.

When I get nervous, sometimes I talk too much. Sometimes I give people too much information about my life. Sometimes I give people too much information about somebody else's life (that's called "gossip:" not okay). Sometimes I interrupt with advice or wisdom that is neither asked for nor appreciated.

And, most importantly, when I am talking, I am not listening. Do you know the five love languages? If not, let me know and we can learn about them together. I know that my most comfortable one is "deep listening." I really thrive when I have people around me to whom I can show love through deep listening. This is probably why I am a family therapist, because listening is my job. And I love my job.

So, I just got buttons made for me and all the family therapists at Stillwater Family Therapy. The button says, simply, W.A.I.T.

Nice, hunh?

Why Am I Talking? Just a reminder that, before I am impeccable with my words (yeah, that's the first of the four agreements...), I can ask myself if it's really important to say NOW. For a therapist, that question is essential, otherwise we are not helping our clients create their own answers to life's challenging questions.

And, although I didn't make this button, there's also W.A.I.S.T.: Why Am I Still Talking????