Dave Martin

When they teach kids this in primary school:

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

…it’s actually genius.

Never ever in the history of the world ever ever has something someone said physically hurt, maimed or killed someone. Yet we treat insults as they were physically attacks on our lives, a threat to our safety, our family, or our future. We get upset, defensive, anxious, and aggressive when someone calls us a ‘loser’, ‘virgin’, ‘asshole’, ‘slut’, ‘dumbass’ or ‘shit for brains’.

If someone does call you any of those things though, analyse it exactly for what it is…

Words are just a series of letters put in a certain order to make a certain sound that comes out of the face hole.

That’s it. Whether someone calls you a ‘slut’, ‘fuckhead’, ‘xlemxslorg’ or who could forget the trusty ‘zmligqsmenagsd’, there’s absolutely no difference. Each one has the same level of potential to actually hurt you – 0.

Unless you attach meaning to the words.

The only insult you can possible feel is the meaning that you, or people in general, have attached to the word. The word can not actually affect you, unless you let it.