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Once upon a time, there was a giant bathtub that had been dumped in the middle of the forest. It was the perfect home for all types of little insects. They had to be careful of just one thing while living there and that was to ensure the plughole remained free from obstruction because otherwise, they might all drown if rain fell suddenly and fill the tub. The strong beetles were put in charge of keeping an eye on the plughole to make sure that it was never blocked.
However, one day disaster struck. The plughole was blocked by something huge, something gigantic – it was a watermelon! The watermelon was so big that not even the biggest beetle, not even the five biggest, could move it. In fact, it was so big that not even all of the beetles working together could move the watermelon from the plughole!
Then all the strongest insects tried their very best to move the watermelon but couldn’t budge it even the tiniest bit. The smartest insects then tried to use their brains to come up with a way to move the watermelon but they had no luck either, it was impossible. Eventually, the wisest insects started to plan the escape from the bathtub.
Amidst all the sadness, a foreign ant had the nerve to ask if she could take the watermelon away with her. All the beetles started laughing at the small ant and said: “Very funny, indeed! That is impossible, just look at you!”
It took a lot of insects to calm the beetles down and stop them from crushing the funny little ant. So the insects told the little funny ant that she could take the watermelon, and the sooner the better. So the ant went off promising to return with some friends at the end of the day. After the small ant left the insects were still working on their plan to escape as they did not believe the funny little ant.
But the ant wasn’t joking at all! At the end of the day, she returned, this time with thousands upon thousands of other ants. In perfect order, each ant went up to the watermelon, bit off a piece and walked off with it.
“You’re not going to get anywhere by doing that” said a grasshopper to one ant that stopped for a second to rest. “The watermelon is exactly the same as it was before you bit your piece off!”
“Hmmm, are you sure about that?” the ant responded in a funny accent as if it had never occurred to her. Then, without giving it another thought, she resumed her journey.
However, that little piece must have had an effect. Just a few days later, there was not a single trace of the giant watermelon. And the insects learned something and decided to change their ways.
So from that day on, many of the most difficult jobs in the bathtub became small ones that were easier to carry out little by little, piece by piece, step by step. And all of this was because one “funny little” ant was thinking outside the box and saw how to do a big job in small and easily manageable steps.
Lessons from this story:
Big goals are very important. But at the same time, they generate a lot of pressure and at first sight, they might seem impossible to achieve. That is why it is important to set smaller goals which are easier to achieve and still enable you to achieve that one big goal. In the end, you will do the same amount of work, but psychologically it will be easier if you choose to go with the small goals to achieve the big goal.
Out-of-the-box, thinking is very important. In most cases, there is more than one way to solve a problem. That is why it is good to take a step back and take another look at the whole situation, or maybe ask someone who is not so familiar with the problem to give you his point of view of a potential solution. Being to knowledgeable about a certain thing can sometimes cause limitations in seeing things differently.
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Be sure to also read:
WISDOM STORY: HOW TO FIND OUT WHO IS LYING AND WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH
WISDOM STORY: OPPORTUNITIES ARE EVERYWHERE YOU JUST NEED TO SEE THEM
LEADERSHIP STORY: HOW A PRINCE EARNED HIS KINGDOM
WHAT DOES EXTRA EFFORT LOOK LIKE
WHEN A FLAW IS ACTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY
I WILL DO IT FOR HALF THE PRICE – A STORY ABOUT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
AREN’T YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING – THE TREE STORY
THE SHARK AND FISH EXPERIMENT – A MINDSET STORY
THE THIRSTY CROW – A STORY ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING
THE BLACK DOT ON A WHITE PAPER
TEAM BUILDING STORY: BALLOON LESSONS
FROM A MISFORTUNE TO GREAT FORTUNE – WHAT IS REALLY HOLDING YOU BACK
A LIFE LESSON ABOUT GIVING IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT
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