| Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. They lit a candle as a symbol of their practice and began. By nightfall on the first day, the candle flickered and then went out. |
| The first monk said: “Oh, no! The candle is out.” |
| The second monk said: “We’re not supposed to talk!” |
| The third monk said: “Why must you two break the silence?” |
| The fourth monk laughed and said: “Ha! I’m the only one who didn’t speak.” |
| They all had different reasons, but each of the four monks shared his thoughts without filtering them — none of which improved the situation. Had there been a fifth, wiser monk, he would’ve remained silent and kept meditating. |
| This way, he would’ve pointed out their mistakes without a single word. Without breaking his own quest for better. Done long enough, talking inevitably leads to embarrassing yourself. Listening leads to learning. |
| The less you speak, the smarter you get. And, maybe not quite coincidentally, the smarter you get, the less you speak. |
Anna Godfrey 