Transcript:
An early mentor of mine recounted the story of a man who entered a monastery. Anyone who entered this specific monastery was required to take a vow of silence. But every year on the anniversary of their entry, they were allowed to break the silence and speak only two words—no more, no less. Once spoken, the person would be silent for another year.
This man entered the monastery and survived his first year. It was really difficult, but he succeeded.
At his first anniversary, the head of the monastery called him to the office, congratulated him, and told him he could now speak his two allotted words. The man responded, “Food bad.” He was dismissed and remained silent for another year.
After his second year, he was asked to speak his next two words. He responded, “Bed hard.”
When his third anniversary came around, he was allowed to speak his next two words. When asked, he responded, “Room cold.” The man returned to his monastic duties for his fourth year.
At the conclusion, the head of the monastery called him to the office to speak his next two words. When asked, the man simply responded, “I quit!”
With that, the man in charge of the monastery said, “Well, that’s no surprise. All you’ve done since you got here is complain!”
Your words don’t have to be many. Just make sure you’re choosing them carefully. Like it or not, you’ll be judged by them.
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