EP. 77 | Three Words That Diminish You (And How To Stop Saying Them So Much)

Sep 9

There are three words most of us say every single day without noticing.

They're small. Polite. They sound like humility. They sound like consideration. One of them sounds so much like good manners that you'd feel rude leaving it out.

And every time you use them, you hand over a little bit of ground.

Not dramatically. Nobody's life falls apart over one sentence. But language is rehearsal — and the things you say on repeat teach your brain what role you believe you're allowed to play. Say them for long enough and you stop being the woman in the room with an idea. You become the woman hoping nobody minds that she's there.

In this episode, I name the three words, unpack where each one actually comes from — usually somewhere genuinely kind — and give you the swap for each, so you're not left knowing what's wrong with no idea what to say instead.

Because this isn't about policing your vocabulary or never apologising again. A real apology matters enormously. But there's a difference between taking responsibility and apologising for taking up space.

In this episode:

The three words to start listening for — and why the first one is the hardest to give up
How care quietly turns into self-abandonment in a very polite outfit
The word that asks a room not to take you seriously before you've finished your sentence
What the third word is really protecting you from (it isn't uncertainty)
My one-week experiment for catching all three — without spiralling about it
Why confidence usually turns up after you speak, not before

You can be kind without disappearing. You can be humble without minimising your value.

But nobody can honour a boundary they can't hear.

Ready to stop making yourself smaller than the life that's calling you?

If there's something you've been through that changed you — and part of you knows you want to build something meaningful from it, but you keep overthinking whether you're qualified enough to start — I'd love to help.

Book a free 30-minute Direction Call with me.

It's not a vague "let's connect" chat, and it's not a sales call. It's a working session: what you want to build, what's been keeping you stuck, and one real next step you can take.

Schedule your call here: kategladdin.com/coachingWant these powerful lessons at your next event?

Resilience keynotes for teams who are done with fluff → kategladdin.com/speaking

Get your copy of my book “Okay, Now What?” here!

It's also available as an audiobook - narrated by yours truly! So if you prefer listening to audiobooks narrated by the author themselves, make sure you check it out on Audible or your favorite audiobook outlet!

Listen to the book on Audible.

Want to download a free chapter of my book to give it a read first? CLICK HERE.

Interested in hiring Kate to speak? LEARN MORE →