Actions Speak Louder Than Words (PB)

“I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.”

Emo Philips

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is going to seem weird for a minute, so just bear with me. Imagine a couple of little kids, playing with a bunch of toys. One of the kids grabs a toy and starts playing with it. Suddenly, the other kid just hauls off and hits him and grabs the toy. Their parents run over and dole out proper punishment—including making the offender apologize. All’s well that ends well.

Now fast forward a decade. These same little kids are now in high school. Instead of fighting over a toy, they’re fighting over a girl. Child 1 is getting the girl because he’s a nice person. Child 2 is now upset so he decides to fight with Child 1 to prove to the girl that he is the stronger of the species. Instead of parents it’s teachers running over. Proper punishment given, apology accepted, both parties sent on their way. What happened to the girl? She went back to Child 1.

Instead of proving to the girl that he was the stronger man, Child 2 just showed he was the bigger jerk. His actions have shown to her that he is not worth her attention. It doesn’t matter what the boy says, he still beat that other kid up. This is the unfortunate malady of humankind. We all live what we might call a decent life. We all make mistakes and we all do things we regret. Sometimes, in the end, it all works out. Maybe that first kid ends up being a real jerk while the second kid fixes his messes and becomes the better person.

The only problem is no matter what you do or what you say, your previous actions define you. Until you can prove you’re a different person, everyone is still going to view you as that same little kid who hit the other kid over a toy. Our actions speak louder than words and in the end we’re more willing to go with our impulses and get what we want than to stick it through and hope for the best. At the end of the day we all make mistakes, it’s how you turn that around and make things better that truly defines you.