HeinzeSight: Talk is Cheap

Most of us have heard the phrases “talk is cheap” and “actions speak louder than words” throughout our lives. These statements are more than just a series of words; they express one of the most fundamentally important ideas to support our personal lives flourishing and make positive impacts in the world around us. These phrases stress the significance of not only working to develop a good plan to accomplish a task, but the importance of putting the effort into executing that plan to gain something. To cause any change, improve situations, or push someone toward greatness, action needs to happen. It is more than simply wanting something to be different. It takes the energy, drive, focus, and initiative to cause the change we desire. Think about how often we hear about a fantastic idea, interesting plan, innovative thought, or something that sounds like a lot of fun, but then nothing comes from it. Many times, these fantastic possibilities simply become abandoned in a sea of things that could have been but never develop. Of course, not every fleeting thought needs to be put into existence, but it is important to make the effort to evaluate if something is worth the energy it might take to make it happen or if your aspiration to make something happen is worth the effort it will take. Accomplishments are hard enough to gain, even when tons of work is poured into them. Without strong intentions and a solid plan, accomplishments are probably not going to happen. Half-assed attempts generally fail. The same ideology goes for social exchanges. People need to make the effort to get together, not just talk about it. It’s easy to say that we need to hang out with others or make efforts to do something, but it is completely different to develop plans and follow through with showing up. Our time is relatively short on this planet, and who knows how long any of us have? There are times when we have either lost contact with someone or they die, and we kick ourselves for not making more of an effort to spend quality moments with them. It is vital to our meaningful relationships to create opportunities to show love and support to each other by interacting.

Related article: What Makes You Interesting?  Although actions truly are more important than words, it is crucial to remember the value of words; they allow us to illustrate ideas we develop so we can define and articulate them to ourselves and others. Words give us the opportunity to formulate a plan, but it is critical to choose your words carefully and accurately. Certain things sound really good as they come out of our mouths, but the meaning or intention behind them may be more empty than we want to admit. It is important that the statements that we speak are honest, thoughtful, and show our intention to follow through with our actions. We should say what we mean and mean what we say. It honestly comes down to the personal integrity you convey to the rest of the world by what you speak.What we say is more than simply a collection of words to get out an idea.It speaks to your own determination to follow through with your intentions. Some are amazing speakers, but without the follow-through to bring something to completion, it is just useless propaganda that does nothing but give false hope of something. We may speak of a plan because it sounds good with little intent or ability to complete the task. It is important to put adequate time, effort, planning, and realistic expectations into what you intend to do. There are a variety of challenges and situations that can pop up unexpectedly to stop your potential to finish something or delay your success. It is important to push past these roadblocks if we want to succeed. I have one final thought regarding the importance of honest communication about your intentions: the reality is that there is only a finite amount of time and effort that can be put into a variety of situations in our lives. There is most likely not a perfect time to do anything, but it is important to carve out opportunities to accomplish those things that we want to do. There will usually need to be a compromise or sacrifice of one aspect or element for another, since most of us have an abundance of activities and responsibilities already existing in our lives that we want to pursue. Take some time, and think about what is actually meant when you promise to do something or set your intentions to accomplish a goal. Not only is your objective expressed for others to hear, but there may be others who are counting on your follow-through.