A
father wanted to inculcate a sense of responsibility in his careless son. So he
told his son to hammer a nail into a wooden pillar in their house for his every
careless act and to pull out a nail for his every positive act. The boy did as
his father instructed. After some period of time the boy noticed that the
pillar was getting crowded with nails. The boy resolved to change his behaviour
and began to do more positive acts. The nails started to coming out, till there
were none left.
He father was very proud of his
son’s change in behaviour. He said, “Son you have done a great job. There are
no more nails left on the pillar”.
But the boy saw the holes on the
pillar and started crying. He said, “Father, the nails are gone but the holes
remain”.
It is true that we learn by
mistakes. We may be wiser after committing the mistakes. But the lessons we
learn may turn out to be very costly. Sometimes the damage done may be
irreversible. So the wisest man learns a lot from others’ mistakes and avoids
careless and thoughtless actions that cause misery to him or others.
- N.Ganeshan