Last time, we explored “The Words We Whisper” – the quiet voice we carry inside. The gentle resilience. The encouragement we can offer ourselves. If you missed it, you can catch up here
This week, I’ve been thinking about another layer to how we communicate – just as quiet and just as powerful:
The words we don’t say.
You know the ones…
- The kind that linger in the back of your mind during a conversation.
- The kind you rehearse in the shower, or rewrite in a text you never send.
- The kind that feel too honest, too messy, too vulnerable – or just too much.
We hold back for all kinds of reasons…
Because we don’t want to make it awkward.
Because we don’t want to rock the boat.
Because it’s easier to pretend we’re fine than to explain why we’re not.
- The “thank you” we meant to share, but we moved on too fast.
- The boundary we need yet never voice.
- The “I miss you” that feels too tender to admit.
- The apology we think about but aren’t sure how to offer.
Yet unspoken words don’t disappear. They collect. They shape the distance between us.
They become weight we carry quietly – sometimes for days, sometimes for years.
We often think communication is about what we say – yet so much is shaped by what we don’t say.
Sometimes, silence is self-protection. Sometimes, it’s wisdom.
At other times, it’s about fear, or habit, or the weight of not wanting to risk disrupting things.
It’s worth asking yourself:
- What have I been holding back?
- What conversation am I avoiding?
- What part of me is asking to be heard – by someone else?
- What would I say if I trusted I’d be heard with compassion?
Speaking up can feel risky. It might be something simple:
A thank you.
An “I’m still hurt.”
An “I need some space.”
Or even: “I care about this too much not to say something.”
There’s no pressure to say it all at once – maybe there’s one thing you can say. One sentence. One step. One truth.
Even a whisper can make space for healing. It can be a form of release – of reclaiming something inside you.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be dramatic.
“We say ‘I’m fine’ because we don’t know how to say, ‘This is hard, and I don’t know how to talk about it yet.”
– Morgan Harper Nichols –
[Musician, songwriter, mixed-media artist, and writer, whose work is centred around the question “how can we create connection?”]
This week…
- What have you been meaning to say and haven’t?
- What could shift if those unsaid words were gently, kindly named?
Sometimes, just a few words can change everything.
Here’s to courage – and to choosing our words, even the quiet ones.
With warmest wishes,
Korinne Le Page
Thrive Coaching & Training – Empowering You to Thrive!
P.S. Feel free to share your experiences and insights!
P.P.S. Book a complimentary Clarity Session with me here
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