“Sometimes it’s what you don’t do that makes you who you are.”
What a terrifying thought!
I suppose it’s not so terrifying when you think about it. I guess it just depends on what you don’t do!
I don’t do a lot of things; I don’t give up on my goals, on people, on life. I don’t really quit anything (Heck, it took me three tries to quit my last job!) and I don’t back down. I don’t break my promises, I don’t lie (Drew says when I do, it’s comical because I’m sooooo bad at it).
So, whether you’re defined by the things you don’t do, the vices you don’t have, sometimes the things that you don’t do make you a better person. If you didn’t give up; you’ll be successful. If you didn’t break a promise; you’ll be trustworthy. If you didn’t try just one more time, you never would have known that you could have finally reached the goal.
However, if you’re the person who doesn’t keep their word, doesn’t make an effort, doesn’t stick around or doesn’t rise to the occasion; that will define you too. You will be known by those who cared about you and respected you as a coward, a joke, a liar. The things you didn’t do made you into something you’re not and you’re now defined by traits no one wants. It doesn’t matter that you’re likely better than that and you should be defined by the things you did, the words you said, the actions in life you took that were right, you will be forever defined by the things you didn’t do.
So, whether the things you didn’t do have defined you in a positive or negative light, you will always be defined by the things you did not do.
The Misadventures of MHC 