'Do As I Do, Not As I say'

"Do as I do, not as I say"--Wouldn't this arrangement of the popular expression, 'Do as I say, not as I do', be more effective?

For some mysterious reason I have been waking around 4 AM the past few days--It's like the light switch was on, but the light bulb was not lit--thinking about how much I talk. My initial thought was, 'Why the heck am I awake? I would really much rather be sleeping', but as my eyelids would in no way be coerced back to my beauty rest, I sat with the questions now rattling in my mind. I thought to myself, I am always conversing with friends, family, colleagues, etc. offering them my brilliant advice at no expense;0) But these mornings, the only thing that consumed my attention was the never silencing question,'Do I honestly follow my own advice in my daily life?'. It's so simple for me to see clearly when looking at another's life circumstances and troubles, and offer a word of encouragement or a piece of advice...but how clouded is my vision when it comes to my own life? The answer I offer to a friend may in every way be the 'right' thing to do, but if it were my issue, would I follow my own advice?

Needless to say, those flip switch mornings had begun to shed new light on an old truth. I continually heard the phrase ' Do as I do, not as I say', and it puzzled me.

"What does that mean to me? And, why do I keep thinking about that phrase? That's not even how it goes!?"
As I went about my day, I got over the perplexing reasoning behind why I thought of the phrase, but, I kept mulling over what it meant. After much reflection, the current finally reached the light bulb, if you will. It's not the amount of words spoken that shape how people perceive me, but more importantly it's the actions I take. How I make choices, what choices I choose, how I treat other people, how I care for my belongings, how I care for myself, what I do with my free time, how I work...all these things speak volumes, and essentially they can all be done without words.

Today I am challenging myself to replace wordiness with willingness. I want to be more motivated and willing to DO, rather then to SAY. Anyone can talk themselves up, but if there is nothing sustaining the words then it's only so long before they deflate. Many can offer a word of advice, but how many live a life of example? As I contemplated who most inspires me, the people who came to mind were all people of few words but much action. This is my new mission; action before words, and words=actions.