Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?
What do you think, do actions speak louder than words? Is that just a cliché or does it really mean something?
I will be the first one to admit that I am guilty of saying I will do something--or that I won't do something--and then turn right around and either forget all about it or do it anyway. But if it's something really important, if I know it truly matters to someone that I actually do what I said I'd do, then I almost always do it. Not always, unfortunately, but nine times out of ten.
Would you say it's merely a character defect or personality flaw if someone routinely says they'll do something and then "forgets"? Or do you think it's more deliberate, perhaps even passive-aggressive, a way to get someone off your back? And can you infer anything from someone's lack of action, maybe that he or she is basically lazy or that deep down simply doesn't care enough to follow through? Can you ever really know?
I certainly wouldn't want someone to write me off as not caring because I failed to do what I said I'd do, unless of course I deserved it, but how much slack should you cut someone?
Shelby Lynne--"I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" mp3 off Just a Little Lovin' (buy)
Feist--"That's What I Say, It's Not What I Mean" mp3 off Leisure Suite EP
Patty Griffin--"Time Will Do the Talking" mp3 of Living With Ghosts (buy)
Todd Rundgren--"Cliché" mp3 off Faithful (buy)
I find that some people think it is worse to say no than to say yes and
just not do it.
"A good no is better than a half asses yes any day." you said it! : )
I read through this post with an increasing sense of sheepishness as I fear
I may be one of these people. For me, it's just forgetfulness and not
intentional and I hope and pray that my loved ones will continue to cut me
an infinite amount of slack.
hi greer! oh, don't be too hard on yourself about the forgetting thing.
maybe you just have a.d.d.? ;-) i was thinking more about when people don't
do important things that they said they would, anyway, not your run of the
mill crappola! about shelby lynne, i have heard the entire thing, and i
like it, although it's not quite my cup of tea, if that makes sense. i took
it into work, however, and i have gotten lots of positive feedback and
questions about it, so it's really a very nice record.
Not so much a.d.d., rather a head forever in the clouds, I think :). Very
irritating for the nearest and dearest. I'm looking forward to checking
out the Shelby eventually. I'd like to see her live sometime too, but
missed this time around.
Its about being reasonably reliable. I would say that if you are around 80%
reliable - you do the things you say you going to 8 out of 10 times - then
that is actions speaking louder than words. We can't be too hard on
ourselves when we don't do everything we say we will. Life happens and we
get sidetracked or we change our minds.
christopher--you're probably right, that sounds like a pretty good rule of
thumb. as i re-read this post, i think i was thinking of someone in
particular as i wrote it and basically trying to figure out what was going
on in that situation. now that more time has passed, i've decided said
person just doesn't give a shit, actually!
RSS Add-Me
