Personal Growth | Inspiration

The Unseen Force That Shapes Your Life

Reaping what you sow: Fact or fiction?

Bill Abbate
ILLUMINATION
Published in
5 min readOct 3, 2024

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Increase Stock photos by Vecteezy

How often do you hear old cliches such as “What you have today is a result of what you did yesterday,” “Life is an echo — what you send out comes back,” “or “You reap the consequences of your past actions.” These sayings all point to the same idea: “You reap what you sow. “ But how well do they hold up in real life? Let’s explore.

Consequences

Do statements such as “you reap what you sow” hold up in the real world, or are they only hyperbole? Such sayings imply the outcomes we experience are linked directly to our actions. This idea aligns with the very definition of consequence, “a result or effect of an action or conditions,” according to the Oxford Languages online dictionary.

How can anyone escape the consequences of their actions or the circumstances they face? While you have control over what you do, you do not always have control over the conditions around you. This lack of control makes some people question the universal law of cause and effect.

We often deal with conditions beyond our influence. We have no choice in which country or family we are born. We have no say in the weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or…

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ILLUMINATION
ILLUMINATION

Published in ILLUMINATION

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Bill Abbate
Bill Abbate

Written by Bill Abbate

Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION, Leadership/Executive Coach, Author www.BillAbbate.com