The Farmer and His Tree

Today is Monday October 7th.

To me, there’s nothing quite significant about October, especially in the Midwest where I live.

October is somewhat of an ‘in-between’ month.

We are in-between our active schedules of the summer months and the soon to be, hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

We are in-between t-shirts and sweatshirts, sweatshirts and winter jackets.

We are in-between green leaves and bare trees.

In these transitional times, we often lose the ‘Fresh Start Effect’ which is a psychological phenomenon where people feel more motivated to pursue goals, make changes, or start new habits at specific moments that they perceive as a fresh beginning or a clean slate.

This effect is rooted in the belief that certain dates or events mark the end of one phase and the beginning of another, offering a mental reset.

During this time period of transition, I often think about an old parable about The Farmer and His Tree.

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In this tale, a farmer plants a tree with great enthusiasm, boasting to all his neighbors about how it will bear the sweetest fruit.

However, as time goes on, he fails to water and care for it properly. He misses one day, then the next, and then the next.

Years pass, and the tree grows weak and barren.

Meanwhile, his neighbor silently tends to his tree, putting in the work daily.

Over time, the neighbor’s tree bears abundant, delicious fruit, while the farmer’s tree withers away.

The silent actions of the neighbor demonstrated that with consistent action, yields successful results.

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This story is timeless because it illustrates a profound truth: words are easy, but actions are the ONLY thing that actually matters.

No matter how eloquently we speak or how convincing our promises are, it is what we actually do that defines us.

This concept is central to one of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

We live in a world where words can sometimes overshadow actions.

In today’s day in age, anyone has the ability to broadcast their intentions, opinions, and promises to the world.

But how often do we following through? How often does our actions live up to the claims we make?

Actions and words must align for true integrity.

When they don’t, the discrepancy becomes glaring, and trust begins to erode.

People may hear what you say, but they will always remember what you do.

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Whether you’d like to admit it or not, we all have trees.

Your tree might be your New Year’s resolution when you said you were going to lose 20 lbs.

Or how you said you were going to finish cleaning the basement.

Or how you said wanted to train jiu jitsu 3 times per week.

Or how you said you were going to work less, do more, spend more time with family, learn something new, travel more, get promoted, spend less, save more, quit smoking….

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It’s October 7th, there’s nothing significant about it.

Nor does there have to be.

Remember what you said you were going to do.

Know your why.

Speak with your actions.

Tend to your tree AND KEEP FREAKING GOING.

Own the Process, 

Tim 

Author of Mastery Monday

Student & Founder