Say the thing

The worst thing in life is to hold something in that you know you should have said out loud.

That’s one of the few rules I actually live by. I speak my mind, and I’ll do what I believe is the right thing. Always.

And it’s not because I’m brave about it. It’s because waiting makes it harder. The same sentence gets more difficult the longer you sit on it, and at some point you decide it’s too late to bring up, so you don’t. Then it just stays with you.

Things left unsaid are worse for everyone all around. Worse for the person who never heard it, and worse for you for carrying it.

The part people get wrong is assuming the unsaid thing is always criticism. Most of what I see people hold back is the good stuff. The thank-you. The credit. The thing they meant to tell someone and figured they already knew.

They usually don’t already know.

So say it now, while it’s easy.