“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.” – William A. Ward
This is a parable about a farmer who owned an old mule that fell into the farmer’s well. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule and did not want to lose him, but he couldn’t figure out how to get the mule out of the well.
He reluctantly decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. He called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE COULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!
He did this, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” He repeated this aloud over and over to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like it would bury him helped him- all because of the way he handled his adversity. –Unknown
Summary:
This parable is a great reminder that often the problems we face also have the potential to benefit us. However, we must face our problems and respond to them positively. We cannot give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity. Instead, we should use our energy to focus on solutions.
Our self-talk is an important tool in finding solutions. Learning to reframe or refute our challenges can help us overcome anything that we are facing.
Reflection:
- Do you dwell on the negative things happening to you or do you focus on finding solutions?
- Learn to reframe or refute your negative thoughts. Write down a negative thought you are dwelling on, concerned about or worried about. Now either argue against it or reframe it to where the concern is now an opportunity.
- How can you and/or your team use this message to help you?
Moving Forward:
- Have a reset button you mentally hit when you make a mistake. A reset button consists of a physical and a mental response. Some physical responses could be, slapping your thigh, taking a deep breath and blowing it out, or wearing a rubber band on your wrist and popping it. Examples of verbal responses are, thinking about something that makes you laugh, or saying things such as “next play,” “flush it,” “move on,” etc.
Using the mantra in this story, your reset button could be telling yourself to “Shake it off, step up” and then shaking off your mistake and stepping up to make up for it.
- Get rid of asking, “Why is this happening to me.” Instead start to respond with, “Okay this is happening, what can I control about it?”
- Share this message with someone that seems buried by adversity in their life.
“It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf
This story along with 29 others can be found in “Challenger Deep Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity” https://tamimatheny.com/product/challenger-deep-stories-fables-and-lessons-to-help-you-rise-above-adversity/ or on Amazon.