This article was inspired by a short email we recently received from a new student:
Dear Marc and Angel,
In one of your recent emails, you asked your students to think about a weakness that they wanted to change. Mine tells lies. Although it’s usually just a little lie, I let myself be carried away. I lie about things the whole damn time, mostly to make myself appear better than I am … because I want to impress people. But it will be more difficult! I have the feeling that every little lie leads to another and burdens me. I’m fed up with my own dishonesty! Please help me break this habit. I need some motivation to change something once and for all. Your wisdom on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
A dishonest student
Our answer (an open answer to everyone who lied to impress people):
Dear dishonest student,
It’s time for a short story about life …
Once upon a time there was an aging king who knew the end of his life was coming and he decided it was time to choose a successor. Since he had unfortunately lost his wife and children in a terrible accident, he decided to pass the throne on to a happy child. So he called children from all corners of his kingdom and asked them to visit the castle immediately.
When the children arrived, he gave each of them a small brown seed. “I want you to plant your seed, give it sunlight and water, and take good care of it,” he said. “In exactly six months from today you will return to the castle with the plant you have grown. The child who grows the most beautiful plant will be looked after by me to become the next king or queen!”
One of the lucky children who received a seed that day was a young girl named Skye. She immediately ran home and carefully planted her seed in a pot of nutrient-rich soil, then placed it on a well-lit windowsill. Skye watered and tended her seed every day. A few weeks later, some other children in their school started bragging about their beautiful plants, but Skye’s pot was still empty. Despite her constant care, her semen had not grown at all.
Six months passed quickly, and it was time for all the children to return to the castle to show the king the plant they had grown. Skye didn’t want to go with her empty pot of earth, but her parents told her to be honest about her failure. Discouraged and depressed, Skye listened to her parents and returned to the castle. She stood quietly in the back of the room, where the king would rate all plants, and waited to be judged.
When the king entered the room, he looked astonished to see so many beautiful plants. Then he went from child to child and admired what they had grown. And the closer King Skye got, the more tears came to her eyes.
The king finally stood before her and her empty pot of earth. “What’s your name?” asked the king.
“Skye,” she said with a whimper.
“Where’s your plant, Skye?”
Skye humbly hung his head, took a deep breath, and then looked up at the king and told the truth: “Majesty, I planted the little brown seed you gave me in this pot and gave it plenty of sunshine and water single day but the seed didn’t grow at all. I have failed.”
Suddenly the king’s voice thundered through the room: “Look! My successor! Your next queen! Her name is Skye!”
Silence and confusion came over the room as the king continued: “Six months ago I gave everyone here a cooked brown seed that could not grow into a plant. Only Skye had the heart and courage to share the truth with me today. Soon she will lead our kingdom very well! “
NOTICE:
As friends, as family members, as teammates … too often we have the need to lie about our experiences and successes in order to simply appear bigger and better than us. We believe that if we constantly show the “beautiful plants” that we have grown, others will love and respect us. However, this is far from the truth (no pun intended).
If we share our truths openly and honestly, we not only build trust that opens doors to deeper relationships and real opportunities, but also make it easier for the people with whom we spend our lives to be more open and honest with us, what everyone Moment together makes you healthier and more peaceful.
Yours sincerely,
Marc and Angel
It’s your turn…
Please leave a comment below and let us know:
How do you find the strength to stand by the truth even when it is difficult?
Is there anything else to share?
We’d love to hear from you. ?
