PERSONAL ESSAY | AUTHENTICITY
The Power of Actions
What we do leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to who we are
My wife and I love to watch football together, especially college football. She has a saying that I often hear and always appreciate. The phrase originated in volleyball, but she’s smartly co-opted it for use in any sport.
When she sees a ref miss an obvious call that would have had a crucial impact on a play, she’ll say, “The ball tells.” What she means is the good will balance the bad. And we often see it play out that way on the field.
Say a ref misses a holding call that allows a defender to make an interception. Then, two plays later, the team that intercepted the ball fumbles it, and the other team gets it back. The ball tells. It’s like football Karma. It doesn’t always happen quickly, though.
Sometimes, the truth takes a while to come to light.
The ball tells is a phrase that can be used outside of sports and is especially applicable when used to describe a person’s actions in relation to their values or beliefs. In terms of values, talk is indeed cheap.
Actions yell while words whisper.
Back in the day, I used to be heavily involved in an evangelical church (I know, I’m shaking my…
