Photo source: Liu Ying via Flickr.com
When I first heard of this phrase “Walk the Talk” many years ago, I was mesmerized by the simple yet profound implication of its meaning.
In my previous regional role, I had the privileged to have conversations with colleagues in China on this topic when running a regional program on Personal Leadership. I was keen to find out whether “Walk the Talk” is a western concept or an oriental treasure…my friends from Beijing have enlightened me.
The term 言行一致 can be traced back to China’s early literature treasure of 儒家之 四书五经 which recorded the most vibrant time in politics, military, foreign affairs and cultural incidents and Confucius thinking. Included in 四书, is the book of 《大学》and 《中庸》originated from 《礼记》，and it is from 《中庸》that teaches the Way of Being。 I was told that this is the fundamental principle of 儒学思想。
The ‘Way’ is to be neutral and balance，and all ways and choices will lead to consequences。One of the way to achieve “中和” or balance is 至诚无妄，which 诚 is the key to the understanding。诚 in 儒家 context is not just about ’honesty’ or ‘frank’ ，it is about being truly and objectively forthright that matter。The practice and meditation of 诚 which supposed to achieve three levels of being are：
- To Self － 博学之 （to learn），审问之 （to ask），慎思之（to reflect），明辨之（to probe），笃行之（to act）。
- To Others － 己所不欲，勿施于人。（to not do to others what you will not do to self）
- Walk the Talk － 言顾行，行顾言。（consider the act when you say and when acting consider what you have said）
I was mesmerized by the depth of understanding on this simple yet profound phrase of Walk the Talk by my Chinese counterparts…but we also agreed that knowing the meaning is one thing but practicing it with consistency is another…
What do you think?
