“You will know them by their fruits”. 50 bonus points if you know who said that. If you guessed Jesus of Nazareth, you are correct.
You don’t need to be a follower of Jesus to engage with this idea. He was giving advice about recognizing false prophets. That’s not my focus here. I’d like to borrow this metaphor to make a point.
The metaphor is simple enough—if apples are hanging from a tree’s branches, it’s an apple tree. If cherries, then it’s a cherry tree.
What fruit is hanging from your branches?
What does your behavior tell the world about you?
If the world only had your actions to consider, what conclusions might they reasonably come to about you?
Not what you say, or what you report about yourself. Not your marketing materials, or your ad campaign. Not your mission statement.
Actions speak louder than words, as they say.
When there's a conflict between your words and your actions, guess which one people listen to? You know the answer.
What is your behavior broadcasting to the world about you?
Maybe you know, maybe you don’t. Maybe you need reliable feedback.
Feedback can be difficult, though, because often those who give it are only looking at a slice of the pie, yet making over-generalized interpretations. They think they see more than they do.
Yet, even in these cases, there may be truth to what someone is telling you about yourself, based on what your behavior is saying. So, at the very least, consider the feedback.
And if the feedback is reliable, then you’ve been given a gift—someone who tells you the truth! Why is this a gift? Because now you know what’s “wrong”, and have an opportunity to change it.
Well, more on this idea of feedback in a future article.
The point is, you are communicating to others about yourself by your behavior, all the time. In fact, it’s impossible to not communicate.
So my question for you today is:
Are you communicating what you want to communicate?
My second question:
How do you know that what you’re wanting to say (by your behavior) is what others are hearing?
Ok, I’m fixin’ to meddle now. Let’s take this to another level:
What does your behavior say about you when no one’s looking?
Someone called this “character”—what you do when no one’s looking.
So today, take some time and consider what fruit is hanging from your branches. And then for extra credit, consider if there’s a difference between your public fruit and your private fruit.
And if there IS a problem, deal with it aggressively! Don’t let it linger.
And if there’s “bad” fruit, there may be a bad root. Root problems are different than fruit problems.
Clean up what needs to be cleaned up. Fix what needs to be fixed. Take care of your tree. Prune the branches. Cut off the dead limbs. Use fertilizer. Make sure there’s plenty of sunlight and water. And if necessary, dig up those rotten roots!
It all starts with an honest look at your behavior—your fruit.
Keep growing my friends.
--Sean Cox, Chicago