Give it your best shot: What toothpaste can teach you about your words

Child's hands opening a toothpaste cap

In order to teach an important lesson to their children the parents gave their two children a large plate, a toothbrush, several straws, toothpicks, and a brand new tube of toothpaste. They told them that the toothpaste and your words are the same, and as such they told them they may choose to do with it as they please.

They played politely at first while the parents just watched. When one slipped and made a slight mess, they both looked to the parents apprehensively. When the parents' demeanor didn't change from their complacently pleasant state the children really started to get into the spirit. They soon found that they had squeezed out the entire tubes and rubbed smeared and generally made a mess Girl in pigtails with toothpaste on her face of things.

The parents then asserted the next phase of this important lesson. They instructed their children to now put the toothpaste back into the container. They tried many different methods to get the toothpaste back into the tube. After exhausting many different methods the parents connected the dots of the lesson to be learned from this.

Words are like toothpaste. They serve a very specific and important function. They can be used appropriately and constructively, or they can make a mess of things when spoken with haste. The final lesson was that toothpaste just as words can not be taken back once they are out.

We can all choose our words more carefully to before we unleash them into the world. Do not speak in haste or in anger as you are likely to make mess of the situation if your perception is clouded or skewed with emotions or partial information. When you do make a mistake, do not try cover it up as you are more likely to make a bigger mess of things by doing so.

Team Chacon | West Covina Real Estate Consultants