Do you remember when you were little, and your mom said that same phrase over and over again, so many times it’s permanently ingrained in your head, “Actions speak louder than words.”

I never really grasped that as a kid, because I thought words were just as important as actions. People say what they mean, and then they follow up, right? That’s how I understood it as a kid anyway.

When our grandparents were young, they didn’t use contracts, they sealed deals with handshakes. Because if you shook on it, you were giving your word, and that meant everything. If you didn’t follow through, or went back on a deal, then you lost your credibility and people lost their trust in you.

As a writer, I think words are extraordinarily powerful. Words have built and collapsed nations. They make people and break people. That’s why you have to be careful with words. That’s why you shouldn’t say them if you don’t mean them.

When I use the term “empty words” I mean several different things.

Sometimes people say something at one point, and mean it at the time, but simply don’t have the capacity to follow through, and then those words become empty. Broken promises. Faulty plans. Empty words.

Other times, people say things because it’s easy to, but they never have any intention of following up. This is where these words can become harmful. If you say something, make a commitment or declaration and then your actions contradict what you say, then your words become meaningless - because who can trust someone who never backs up what they say.

If you say that you are someone’s friend, then be their friend. If you say you love someone, love them with your whole heart, and show it. If you say you care about and value someone, then show that with your actions.

People who don’t back up their words are hard to be around because you never know if they are being genuine. Once you lose someone’s trust, you rarely get it back, because it won’t matter what you say, because at the end of the day your words don't mean very much.

So really think about what you say, and if you can’t back it up with your actions, don’t say it to begin with.