What is the meaning of the words we say? Is it sometimes better to bite your tongue and not speak in anger? Can we completely reverse the hurtful words we have spoken?
Let's listen to an inspiring story about hammering nails. And it concerns neither a carpenter nor a good craftsman, but a young boy with a bad character. And the title nails have a very metaphorical meaning.
A story about hammering nails
Once upon a time, there was a boy with a bad character. So his father gave him a sack of nails and asked him to hammer in one each time he lost his patience and argued with someone or offended someone.
On the first day, the boy hammered 35 nails into the fence. In the weeks that followed, he learned to control himself, and the number of nails he hammered diminished day by day. He found it easier to control himself than hammering nails.
The day finally came when the boy went to his father and told him that he had not hammered a nail that day.
The father was overjoyed, congratulated him, and ordered him to take one nail out of the fence every day when he had composure and would not argue or offend someone.
The days passed until the boy could come to his father and say that there were no nails in the fence.
Father congratulated his son and said:
“Son, you did well, but look how many holes there are in the fence. You can see for yourself that the fence will never be the same as it used to be. When you argue with someone and tell them something painful, you leave wounds like these in them. You can stick a knife in a human and then pull it out, but the wound will remain. No matter how many times you apologize, the scare will remain, even if it heals and no longer bleeds. "
What else can we learn from the story of hammering nails?
Ernest Hemingway said, among other things, these words:
Before you answer, listen. Think before you react. Earn before you spend. Wait before you judge. Before you quit, give it a try.
This is a beautifully presented law of cause and effect. In the dimension of all life, it is called the Law of Karma. This means that every thought, word, and deed we have has consequences. Sometimes such consequences that we like and that we would like to reverse. But we can't. We often have to reap what we have sown.
A Chinese proverb says:
If you can be patient in one moment of anger, you will save yourself a hundred days of pain.
And another wise saying admonishes us:
If you're looking for revenge, start digging two graves.
So try to make a conscious decision about what you want to sow in your life.
See also other coaching stories and parables: