My Actions Have Been Awfully Quiet

When I was younger, I had a terrible habit of forgetting things I needed for school at home. I was unbelievably disorganized, and there was nothing a planner, checklist, or routine could do for me at that time. It usually didn't hit me that I had forgotten something essential until we had already pulled into the school parking lot. I then would have an internal debate with myself about which of my options would be the lesser of two evils: don't tell mom and dad, but have to suffer consequences, such as receiving a 0% on my homework assignments, or tell mom and dad and have to ride back home with them angrily lecturing me the whole way about how inconvenient and stressful it was for them to have to go back. I usually settled for the latter.

One day, I had managed to forget my entire backpack before school. I shrunk down in my seat and mumbled my admission to my dad. He was (understandably) displeased. We flipped a u-turn and made our way back to the house. I sprinted in to get my bag and hurried back to the car. Once I settled into the back seat, I said to my dad that I was sorry and wouldn't ever do it again. He shook his head and looked at me from the rearview mirror while he told me he was tired of it and that this had become a habit for me. He didn't want to hear my sorries but instead wanted to see my repeated efforts to remember my things. "Actions speak louder than words."

In recent months, it's become apparent that what I say I do, or who I say I am, matters very little compared to what I actually do and who I actually am. I may say that I want to wake up earlier or that I'm a financially responsible person, but every time I hit "snooze" and buy a $7 cup of coffee before work each day, I'm a living, breathing contradiction.

Make no mistake, I believe words can be a great starting point. Affirmations, proclamations, and vows may all be encouraging and can establish the things we set out to do. Without action though, all of that is just noise, and let me tell you, I've been pretty darn noisy. So if you're anything like me and have been just plain noisy, let today be the day that changes.

I no longer need to say I want to wake up earlier; I need to get myself up and moving when the alarm goes off.

I don't need to tell anyone I am a financially responsible person; I simply need to spend money less frivolously.

Oh, and instead of talking all about the blog that I write, I should probably post more than one time in an eight-month period!

I talk a big game... it's time I start playing a big game too.