An ant bit me! As I type I have to intermittently take my hands off my laptop to scratch the itch. Very annoying I assure you. But it got me thinking nonetheless. Could I learn anything from my experience of being bitten by ants? Life lessons are everywhere, if we would but stop, look and reflect. How can an annoying episode become a life learning opportunity? I hope what I learned inspires you to live life fuller and brighter. I want to share three things I learned from ants.
1. CAPACITY: Ants show me that I have the capacity to be more, do more and achieve more than I give myself credit for.
It is simply amazing what we can do when we realize what we CAN do. When you realize your potential; when you discover all that is possible it is much easier to believe that you can do. It unfortunate that in life we hear more about what we cannot do, than what we can do.
We must all have heard the famous rhetorical question ‘what would you do if you realized you could NOT fail’? The question is like a kick in the shin, to get us to break free of self-imposed limitations that make us believe we cannot. Ants have no such imposed limitations.
No one ever told ants what they cannot do; they didn’t get that memo. Research has revealed that ants can lift FIFTY TIMES their weight.
Imagine you live in a world where no one ever said you could not be, do, become… What would your world look like? How daring would you be? How bold would you live? Would you lean in more into your challenges, into your potential, into the life lessons that could carry you on to an outstanding life? Yes?
Look at the ant; look again at yourself. If the ant can do it why can’t you? You do not know your real capacity until you lean in. Never turn away, lean in.
2. COURAGE: The ant that took a nibble at my calf this evening is pretty courageous. I am a full grown human who can very easily crush the pesky insect without even knowing it. But the ant wanted something and braved the bumbling human to get to its objective.
What would happen if all ants decided that leaving their ant hill was too precarious? What if the ants saw how big, scary and potentially dangerous the outside world is and decided that home was safer and more desirable? Where this so, ants would become extinct; they would starve and die.
When you see ants scurry away when you stomp into the vicinity, it’s obvious that the ants know exactly what kind of mortal damage you can do to them. But it doesn’t stop them from venturing out in search of food. They were frightened, but they did it afraid. Ants can march into the most precarious places in pursuit of their goal and irrespective of their numbers or individual size. Courage isn’t found in brawn, but in heartfelt conviction and follow through. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the commitment to do ‘it’ anyway …whatever ‘it’ may be.
When was the last time fear prevented you from getting something you wanted? You looked at yourself and believed that you were less than, less capable, less qualified etc. and you disqualified yourself before the games began!
These feeling arise in my mind more times than I care to admit, but I am learning to do it afraid. I tell myself (audibly) to ‘JUST DO IT’. I never ask “what’s the worst that could happen?” Rather I ask “what’s the best that could happen?” [Click on the poster to download your own copy and share on social media]
3. CONSTANCY: Ants show remarkable tenacity in their single minded focus and eagle eyed resolve in going after their goal. They don’t get sidetracked. Single minded focus is a key ingredient to success and achievement.
Ever watched sugar ants marching in line? What happens when you put an obstacle in their path? Do they stop, consider the obstacle, call a meeting then pack up and go home? No, they move around the obstacle; sometimes over the obstacle. But they have their eagle eyes zeroed in on their goal. I am yet to find something that will make them all turn tail and run away from their goal. Even when they scatter, they still regroup in direction of their goal.
I hear that ants have 250,000 brain cells, compared to 10million in humans; it’s amazing how much they accomplish, isn’t it? So obviously it doesn’t take that much to be tenacious; our brains are more complex so we can be consistently tenacious if we put our minds to it.
Enough of my own life lessons from ants, for now. I’m sure as you reflect you will identify more life lessons in addition to mine (Capacity, Courage and Constancy). You can share them in the comments. And not only from ants, look for life lessons everywhere. Life itself is one big classroom where we can learn as much or as little as we wish; and we are made richer for it. It’s no wonder that a popular acronym for LIFE is Living In Full Effect. [Click on the poster to download your own copy and share on social media]
Who is holding you accountable in focusing and getting the most from your life lessons? No one? It would be my honor to be your own personal accountability partner; so that you remain focused and achieve all your set goals. See what a few people who have worked with me have to say.
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