The Follow-Through Is Everything
Your words are only as good as your actions.
“A great deal in life depends on who smacked your hand at breakfast when you were a child.” — Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993
“Don’t make me turn this car around!”
Who, having been confined to the backseat of the family wagon, hasn’t heard those words uttered in frustration from the front seat? They’re part of the lore of the family trip.
But who in reality has experienced dad or mom actually turning the car around and canceling the vacation?
As children, we’re trained to believe that the worst threats would be fulfilled, with devastating results. Intimidation by corporal punishment (“the belt”) has given way to the terror of revoked screen time — generations separated by virtue of disparate physical objects — evocative of a horrible, dreadful outcome.
Until those words are backed up with actions, they’re just that: words. But words carry power, and their power is only as effective as our actions.
“If he who breaks the law is not punished, he who obeys it is cheated.” — Thomas Szasz, 1973
We have rules and expectations for a reason. Leaders understand them, follow them, and talk about them. Leaders in families, leaders in our communities…
