Last month I talked about how people can say all the right things, but at the end of the day, how they choose to treat someone else through their actions says it all. Actions will always speak louder than words. And when you don’t back up your words with your actions, your words become meaningless.
There is a difference between knowing the path and walking it. It is easy to know the path and talk about it. You can become a guru about it and talk about what others need to do. Knowing is somewhat passive and it requires intellectually curiosity. However, walking the path involves taking action and risk. It takes you showing up and being responsible and accountable for your course of action – and whether it has a good or bad outcome. Walking the path gives you experience and credibility because you’ve taken action.
Remember, what we do has a stronger impact on others than what we say.
Here are some things to remember when we want our actions to be consistent with our words:
- Telling someone you are sorry when you have wronged them is important. But what really shows someone that you are sorry is changing your behavior going forward.
- If you respect someone, be consistent with your body language. Don’t roll your eyes when they speak if you don’t agree with them. Don’t gossip about them behind their back and say that you respect them.
- When you are in a heated argument and you don’t want to scare your partner, don’t be scary. I’ve been around people who say they are insecure or scared themselves in the moment, but then they’ve acted scary towards me. If you don’t want to scare your partner, learn how to manage your emotions effectively so that your actions reflect how you say you feel.
Remember, people may not tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you. Pay attention. How they treat you is how they feel about you.
