Angry Nails

Unknown Author

Contributed by Ashok G. Vasandani

 

Here’s a story I read in www.developgoodhabits.com that I’d like to share, something that we can all learn from.

THERE was once a boy who was angry so frequently with his friends at school that he was constantly getting sent home. His temper was disruptive to the class and hurtful to other students.

His father came up with a strategy to try to deter the boy from getting angry so easily. He gave his son a hammer and some nails and told him to hammer a nail into the family’s fence every time the boy got angry in the future.

The following day, the boy got angry 37 times, and had to hammer as many nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, the boy got tired of hammering nails into the fence and he gradually started to control his temper. Slowly, the number of nails he was hammering into the fence started to decrease. The boy realized that it was easier to remain calm when he started to feel angry than to gather the tools, go outside, and start hammering.

Eventually, the boy stopped losing his temper altogether. His dad noticed, and told the boy to remove a nail from the fence every day that he was able to keep his temper under control.

Eventually, as the weeks went by, all of the nails had been taken out of the fence. The father and son then stood in front of the broken fence, which was completely scattered with holes.

The father turned to his son and said, “You have done well, but look at the holes in the fence. They cannot be repaired. When you get angry at other people, it leaves a scar just like the holes you see in front of you. It doesn’t matter if you say I’m sorry one hundred times, the injury is still there.”

The Moral:

Control your anger toward other people. While you may not see the damage that it does, it can leave irreparable wounds that can eventually break them. Be kind to others and think before you let your emotions get the best of you.

SOURCE: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/inspirational-stories/

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments