Our actions do not guarantee us positive results if our motivation is bad. Likewise, if our intention is genuine and caring, even though such actions may cause
some temporary discomfort, in the end we can expect some meaningful and beneficial results from such acts. Thus, in my opinion, motivations count more than the act itself. Therefore, before we even begin to act, we have to be sure about our motivation, which should be based on care and love. Otherwise, we may end up committing harmful actions.
Our body, speech, and mind are all interlinked, and without the control of our mind, our body cannot act. Thus, anyone who wishes to protect their physical body from harm must tame their wild mind which is generally known in Buddhism as "the wild monkey.” Taming our mind is one of the most important things for us to do because happiness or suffering is the direct result of our mind. We cannot afford to let our mind run too free because the outcome could be unpredictable. But we also can’t imprison our mind, which may give rise to stress and loneliness. We just have to be wise enough to handle the mind delicately, like a mother holding a little baby.
In our ordinary lives, we always tend to worry about our future rather than our present moment. In fact, if we think carefully deep within, we will find that this present moment decides what kind of future we are going to face. Thus, it makes a lot of sense to make sure that whatever we are doing in the present should be right and positive, because our good future depends on our actions in this present moment. Thus, we should be more concerned about our present actions than with what kind of future we are going to inherit.