BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR CHALLENGES!

June 3, 2008

Think about MICE. Mice have problems too, you know … traps, cramped quarters, noisy giants for neighbors. A lot like us, really. So the National Institute of Mental Health decided to see what would happen if mice were set loose in a problem-free world. They thought the results might reveal something about human beings and their problems. Eight fortunate little mice were given free run of a rodent paradise—they were given enough food and space for 4,000 mice. As expected, the eight soon became sixteen; the sixteen, thirty-two; and so forth. They played, slept, ate, and doubled their population every 55 days. It was a “boom town playpen”–the kind many humans wish they could live in. But as the population hit 620, the frolicking slowed. Social problems appeared. At population 2,200, just above half capacity, the boom town fizzled. Reproduction halted. Eventually the population plummeted to zero. Silence. The mice were gone. The parallel between mice and human beings is obvious: challenge is an essential ingredient of life. Without a challenge, people become “settled.” And when people are settled too long they get lazy, nervous and querulous. They find that what they have is not really what they wanted; that the challenge, the journey itself was the real reward. Even though we strive to become settled, and seek the mirage of false, material, external security, we know that we really do our best, accomplish most, and live most fully when we are unsettled. The security that resides within us and is available to us in abundance includes the ability to think, to love, to be creative and productive.

Here’s what you can do:

Every morning, be thankful for the challenges you face! They will bring out the best in you. Live on the edge. Continually strive toward your goals, and don’t let your life become too settled. Be THANKFUL for the troubles of your job. They provide about half your income. If it were not for the things that go wrong, the difficult people you have to deal with, and the problems and unpleasantnesses of your working day, someone could be found to handle your job for half of what you are being paid.It takes intelligence, resourcefulness, patience, tact and courage to meet the troubles of any job. If all of us would start to look for more “troubles,” and learn to handle them cheerfully and with good judgment—as opportunities rather than irritations—we would find ourselves getting ahead at a surprising rate. For it is a fact that there are plenty of big jobs waiting for men and women who aren’t afraid of the trouble connected with them!

Posted in RSS