Sunday, September 6, 2009

Walk the talk


All of us have one common craving and desire – to be loved and respected. This essentially comes from our ego which craves recognition. One can see this even in small children, by the way they smile and laugh, when we pet and fondle them. There are many ways by which we can get the respect of others. One of them is by having consistency in our behaviour and our speech.

We tend to speak with much enthusiasm and gusto about various topics. Even take the topic of values – each one of us will profess to be having the right values in ourselves. We will also have a view on how one should behave in different situations and circumstances.

The true test comes when we are faced with such situations. At that time, do we practice what we preach? Or do we have different standards and yardsticks for ourselves? I have seen people preaching and advocating non-violence but when a tiny ant bites them for transgressing into its territory, they would immediately retaliate by crushing its life out. I have also seen parents teaching children to not fight but constantly arguing between themselves and showing contrary traits.

Whatever ideals we stand for; whatever characteristics we seek to see in others, should be first incorporated in ourselves. We must become the change we want to see in the world, said Mahatma Gandhi. What better way to preach and teach than by demonstrating values through our own actions? When we thus walk the talk, we gain respect, admiration, love and, above all, following.

“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice” - Otto Von Bismark

“The mediocre teacher tells; The good teacher explains; The superior teacher demonstrates; The great teacher inspires” - Anonymous

“A picture is better than a thousand words, an action better than a thousand pictures” – Vishwanath Seshadri

7 comments:

KParthasarathi said...

If we practise what we preach ,our credibility increases and people tend to listen with respect

Anonymous said...

Very well said..:)

Thanks for this enlightening post Vish ..!

I daily i listen to many good thoughts and sayings..How nice this world would be if the preaching and action are inseparable and goes hand in hand..!

We must be the change first as Mahatma said..!

Rakesh Vanamali said...

A very significant post! If only we do what is expected of us, then life would be such an easy and enjoyable journey!

Anonymous said...

It is very challenging to do the right thing,to behave according to our beliefs,to practice what we preach..For this we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us..

Tyaagi

Avin said...

A post with a flavor of Rajinism ;)
I liked it.
It is for the same reason that i hardly preach for at times you wont have excuses to overrule it ;) Just an easy way out.Kidding I am :)

Vijay V said...

Beautiful post.
What you said is really true. When we preach others, we have a feel like, we are perfect and we don't bother to realize whether we follow what we preach. It happened in me. I am working hard to make myself perfect before i preach something.

This i learnt from the life of Mahatma Gandhi. After freedom, in one of the interviews, Gandhiji was asked with a question, "What is your message to the future generation?". Gandhiji humbly replied, "My life is my message."

I always try to remember this word and work hard to follow this in my life.

ramesh sadasivam said...

Very well said Vish.

I especially liked the quote of yours.

Mahatma Gandhi says,"It is dishonesty to believe in something and not practice it."