Everything Counts in the Long Run…

There is a phrase form somewhere that says: “Everything counts in the long run.” This applies to all that goes into making of a life, all the influences, decisions, example from earliest years. Everything does count in the long run, and the record matters very much.

People build their confidence in us—or lack of it—by all our words and all our actions. If what we say proves to be true, it increases the confidence of others in us. If what we say proves false, it decreases the confidence of others in us. If we pretend to be something we aren’t, or take credit for what we haven’t done, ultimately this becomes apparent. There is no way of erasing the trail of life, no way of going back and wiping out the impressions and misimpressions we may have left in many places.

People may forgive us; they may be lenient and charitable—but our lives are a complete composite of what we have thought and done and said—all of which ought to square with the facts, whatever they are. “Everything counts in the long run.” Our record of meeting obligations, of paying debts, our record in school, at work, at home, with friends and family; our record of honor and honesty, of cleanliness and truthfulness all add up to the total of what we are. And whatever we are others will ultimately know. Every position we acquire, every opportunity that opens up, sooner or later depends upon some person’s impression or appraisal of us—and upon what we are.

Sooner or later the true and the false face each other in record that is written in the minds and opinions and impressions of many people—and within ourselves. Sooner or later the truth or untruth becomes apparent. “If it is not right,” said Marcus Aurelius, “do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.” ¹“Everything counts in the long run.”