Wednesday, October 23, 2013

"A Quiet Day"

Say only what is kind, useful, and true.  This sounds like an assignment that should be easy to accomplish, right?  Prior to completing this project, that’s certainly what I thought.  However, after spending a day without saying anything negative, I would conclude that I had difficulty completing this project.

I would not consider myself a negative person, so I didn’t think I would have any trouble saying only what is kind, useful, and true.  I am not usually the person who initiates many conversations, but I try to always answer politely and with respect.  Therefore, I was surprised at how quiet I was when I was actually paying attention to what I was going to say before I said it.  It was hard since I was so conscious of trying to be correct in everything I said.  I was reminded that being truthful isn’t always kind.

I chose to do this assignment over the weekend while I was at home with my parents.  At one point during the day, my Mom questioned why I was so quiet.  Then when I tried to explain what was behind my comments throughout the day, she giggled a little and replied, “So that’s why you complimented me when I made breakfast?”  That was an example of where I did try to go out of my way to say something kind, rather than nothing at all.  I don’t always acknowledge what my parents do for me; I take them for granted.  This assignment gave me a chance to realize that.

The hardest part of the day came during the afternoon when I was watching football.  I am pretty competitive when it comes to sports, particularly with my Dad since we both like different teams.  It was very difficult to say kind things during some of the football games, so I focused on useful and true things.

My take-away from this project is that I definitely need to have a little patience before I speak.  As I mentioned, I don’t usually have harsh words to say about others, but I may not always have kind things to say either.   I do speak the truth which may not always be kind, but the combination of kind and truthful together proved to be a little challenging.  I always think I have useful things to say; however, the person hearing what I am saying may have a different opinion.  This project was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be from when I first read the assignment. It has definitely taught me to be more aware of what I am saying before I speak.  

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