Integrity in All Things
Habits, Character, and a Flower Pot
I was out for a walk and observed something that disturbed me.
“Can I talk with you for a minute?”
Two tall teens who had been walking toward me on the same side of the road as I stopped and listened.
“I saw you walk by the flower pot in front of that house down there and knock it over. I was surprised to see that you didn’t pick it back up but kept walking.”
“Yeah. I was thinking about it,” one of the boys admitted.
“Well, humor me while I give you a little life lesson?” I asked.
The boys shifted their stances and nodded.
Whew. I was ready for some resistance and some attitude but I had their attention.
Though I didn’t do so by name, I quoted American sociologist and author Martha Beck to the boys.
How you do anything is how you do everything.
And I spoke to them about how it’s simpler to keep a good habit than to break a bad one. And that if you can take care of all the little things to the best of your ability, it will be easier to take care of the big things going forward when the pressure is on.
