Look before You Leap
We should do something only after we have thoroughly considered what we are going to do. We must think first of the consequences of our actions because every action produces some reaction. And the results of our actions are likely to have wider repercussions. They will affect us, our family and dependents, and eventually the whole of the society or at least the people among whom we live. It, therefore, becomes necessary for us to ponder over the pros and cons of the matter that we are going to take up. It is foolish to take a leap in the dark because we do not know the ground on which we may fall. We may fall on a thorny bush, we may strike against a rock, and we may fall into a well, a hornet’s nest, on a honeycomb, or on a sleeping snake. He who does not take into account, well in advance, the possible effects and plunges headlong into any course of action is bound to come to grief. He would ruin himself and reduce his dependents to a state of destitution. If an entrepreneur embarks on some rash venture and invests money in a losing concern, he is bound to become bankrupt. If the captain of a ship does not plan his courses with the help of a compass and the beacon light, which warns him against the rocks that lie in his way, he is doomed to meet a shipwreck. A commander may lose not only his battle but his entire battalion if he makes a move without making an assessment of the strategy and strength of the enemy. A similar end awaits all those who do things without careful in a sudden fit of enthusiasm. They are likely to land themselves into troubles. If they do not, they must thank their stars.
