Entry 7: Practice What You Preach
In prison I would say it’s safe to say that everyone observes your behavior to form an idea of who you are rather than accepting what you tell them of yourself. When you first arrive at prison you are literally walking into a world filled with strangers nobody knows you as a person, and likewise you don’t know anyone either. Fortunately, I was the beneficiary of sound advice, which was to just be yourself, and to practice what you preach because your actions carry more weight than your words.
The person who taught me this must have saw something in me that at that particular moment in time I didn’t see in myself. Acting in accordance with his advice I didn’t pretend to be someone I wasn’t, and after a length of time passed people saw this and placed their attention else where.
I remember one day I was reading a book called, “Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself”, in the day room. As I was reading a lifer who doesn’t really speak to any one walked by and must have taken notice of the book I was reading, and said: “that’s some good literature there youngster, keep feeding your mind positivity”. Immediately the guy who gave me that sound advice I mentioned above came to mind and I smiled.
I began to understand how my actions influenced the opinion of others, and how my words had little impact without action. From that point forward I applied that piece of advice through out my time, and it has paid dividends.
