Some years ago, I visited Britain’s premier wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market—The New Spitalfields Market. I got a box of finely selected apples, among other things. The apples were well packaged and pleasant to behold.
I took the box home and stored it in a nice cool place, where anyone in the house could easily reach to take the apples when needed. Everyone enjoyed the apples as we took each apple from the box.
Some days later, I discovered that the apple I took out of the box was going bad. I then decided to check all the other apples—surrounding and those below, and I discovered one rotten apple and many others that have been affected by the rottenness of the one. The closer they are, the more the impact. The other good apples began to deteriorate because they were all in the same box. The bad one was releasing the gases of rottenness which eventually makes others go bad gradually. If I did not take any action in good time, I would probably open the box one day to discover that the whole box of good apples has turned rotten.
I saw the practical implication of the common expression that says that one bad apple spoils the bunch. I have found this to be a true principle that applies to life. Many good people can become corrupted by a few bad ones; the effects do not take long to become visible in the whole bunch. The people that act early save the situation.
There could be times that we focus on the affected apple and leave the rotten apple below the bunch in the same box. We will only come back to see that the problem still exists and the corruption continues. We may remove more of those affected, but still without removing the source of the problem. You guessed right! Yes, you only eliminated more people but left the rotten apple or the bad influence. If you could find the source of the problem on time and take appropriate action, you would have preserved the bunch.
Many nations are suffering from bad apples—they are usually fewer but have a negative influence that spreads. When the appropriate action is lacking, it grows, and more people get affected.
Many communities are in danger because of bad influences. Some schools have more corrupt students and teachers because of the gradual contamination from a few. Teams are constantly frustrated, not achieving their goals because of one or more bad apples—making the effort of many hardworking people fruitless.
As an individual, you might also be experiencing the effect of a bad apple. A habit or character could be hindering you from achieving your goals. It may look insignificant, or you may have more good things to boast about, but the effect of one unpleasant behaviour could gradually affect other areas of your life. The impact of a bad character might ruin everything in the long run.
You might have heard of how so many seemingly secret or small things grow to become a hindrance to the progress of many people. It could be sex scandals that come to light and eventually ruins a career of many years. It may be an injustice that grew without control that becomes the acceptable lifestyle of the perpetrator. It is a gradual process of deterioration. You can choose to deal with the source of the problem as soon as possible to avoid the great fall.
A great organisation could be brought to shame by the actions of a few. The effect of rottenness could affect everything. Every apple starts as good, but some become bad by the influence of bad apples. However, the process could be interrupted or prevented by appropriate actions.
It is important to consistently take stock of your life or environment to ensure a healthy state of character and do all you can to maintain it.
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