We’ve all seen the “Before You Speak” motivational poster. As I write this, one is taped to my apartment’s front door where I can see it on a daily basis.
However, this morning I was reading Miss Manners’ response to a Gentle Reader in which she cautions the reader not to characterize a gesture of condolence in negative terms because “it’s not useful” to think that way. I started ruminating on the “usefulness” of our thoughts. (Thinking about the usefulness of thinking….metacognition at its finest.) I decided it would be fun to create an “As You Think” poster as a companion to the original.
Words are important — but thoughts come first.