Talk is cheap...so cheap in fact, you can usually get it for free. There is a reason why it is often so cheap, because it doesn't take any effort to talk. Follow-through is probably one of the most important things we can do, but so often it is the one thing that is really lacking. Take a simple "supply and demand" curve: there is a lot of "talk" out there and thus the very affordable cost. "Follow through" on the other hand is in low supply and always asked for in high quantity.
Think of all the people who want you to follow through on all of your "talk"...teachers, parents, kids, family, spouse, boss, employees, and the list could go on. You can go on constantly talking about how great you are, but at some point you will run into someone who will want you to show some validity to the "you're awesome" argument. At some point, you have to show your child how much you love them and care about them by showing up to a sporting event or something similar; without it being a battle between choosing your child over your own "important" schedule.
Sometimes, I don't even think it's about following through with promises you make to others, or proving how awesome you are. I think one of the biggest issues is our own viewpoint on life as a whole. How many times have we talked about spending more time with our family?...or eating healthier? We talk about these grand plans that we have for our lives and all the things we want to do (realistic or not) but a majority of the time we never follow through. Why?
Life happens. Our dream of traveling to Italy slowly gets piled on deeper and deeper with bills and other pads of note paper. Our gym membership sits on the coffee table in the living room, gathering as much dust as our Bible we said we were going to start reading more often. Our priorities change. There's nothing wrong with that by any means. But, by constantly holding on to some dream (and worse) continuing to talk about it like it's going to happen only attacks our soul and makes us feel worthless, negative and regretful. Those feelings certainly don't make me feel like doing ANYTHING. My advice is to STOP talking about all the stuff we say we are going to do. If you want to do something, then go and do it; talk about it afterward. Stop telling yourself you are going to do something when you know you really aren't; stop pretending to be someone to other people by making these grand plans and not being able to follow through...chances are they will love you regardless.
Don't misunderstand me, having dreams and pursuing them is a great thing! I'm talking about putting on a mask and pretending to be someone you're not to impress yourself, your family, your boss or just other people in general. Maybe, just maybe, if we get rid of all the Fairy Tale-pretend-garbage, then we might get to know each other better, because we'll start being honest with one another for the first time.
Matthew 6
Listening to...Making me a believer - TFK
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