Once upon a time
there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely
bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have
wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very
bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very
hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him.
Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just
shows how stupid most people are!”
As he grew, his parents became concerned
about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should
do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He
gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he
told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it
into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you
can!”
Of
course, those weathered oak boards in that old fence were almost as tough as
iron, and the hammer was mighty heavy, so it wasn’t nearly as easy as it first
sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of the first day, the boy had driven 37 nails
into the fence (That
was one angry young man!). Gradually, over a period of weeks, the
number dwindled down. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails
into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at
all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.
“As a sign of your
success,” his father responded, “you get to PULL OUT one nail. In fact, you can
do that each day that you don’t lose your temper even once.”
Well, many weeks passed. Finally one day
the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone.
At
that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one
more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. “But I want you to notice the holes
that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the
same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result.
There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re
sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there. And a verbal wound
is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence.
They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who
share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they
will also open their hearts to us. That means we need to treat everyone with
love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”
A most valuable lesson, don’t you think?
And a reminder most of us need from time to time. Everyone gets angry
occasionally. The real test is what we DO with it.
If we are wise, we will spend our time
building bridges rather than barriers in our relationships.
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Consultant-Speaker-Motivator: www.ahmad-sanusi-husain.com
Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur : www.alfalahconsulting.com
Islamic Investment Malaysia: www.islamic-invest-malaysia.com
Pelaburan Unit Amanah Islam: www.unit-amanah-islam.net
