Planting Seeds - Germination Rates and Times Unknown

I remember one time talking to my mother about a disagreement that I'd had with a teacher about my grade on an English essay.

"She totally didn't see my point. I mean how can...."

When I paused for air, my mother said, "Well, just because she didn't acknowledge that you had a point, doesn't mean she didn't hear you at all. You may have planted a seed in her mind about this aspect of your writing and her grading."

I said nothing and it was pretty obvious to my mom that I had no idea what she was talking about.

She tried again, "Sometimes people don't want to admit that they are wrong or you had a point or maybe they don't really see your side of the argument, but your words stay with them, like a seed in the ground. And those words, that seed, can germinate into a change on their part down the road."

I was a teenager and didn't want to wait for anything and I think I went off muttering about didn't my mother see how stupid this teacher was and where was my sympathy?!! But, ironically, my mother's own words were most definitely a seed in my brain that later sprang into a deeply-rooted tree.

I have come to realize that both actions and words can plant a seed in someone else's mind that you NEVER know when it might germinate. I have recently had people tell me that something I said or did made them decide to make a change in their lives. One person told me that my writing had inspired her to begin writing again. Another friend who a few months ago whined constantly about being stuck in a dead-end job, told me that after observing me, she had decided to start looking for a different job. Wow! How cool is that?

This relates to making resolutions because what may appear as no results is often a very slow germination rate on the seeds you are planting. Whether you are trying to get a business off the ground, marketing an existing skill or product, or changing someone's mind (including your own) and you aren't seeing results, remember you may have planted a seed.

P.S. The picture was taken from the website morguefile.com, which despite its name is a great site for bringing blogs and websites to life by adding pictures. I learned about it from this Squidoo lens on free web graphics.