Tough times don’t last. Determined people do.
In this moment of our fight against COVID-19, we see COURAGE among each of us as we DEDICATE ourselves to making a positive difference in others’ lives. While facing some of these life challenges, it is our DETERMINATION that gets us through the crisis, again and again. I want to share an uplifting story told by Ayush Agrawal, our Solutions Architect, about a lesson of determination from ants.
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DETERMINATION. Sometimes the biggest lessons in life come from the “smallest” of us.
Since we were kids, we tended to look up to “big people” for lessons on how to become better: in school, at our jobs, to our neighbors, as human beings. We were keen to learn the secrets of their success. But we forgot that sometimes the biggest lessons in life could come from the smallest of us.
Take ants.
Would you believe those small creatures could teach us how to make a better life while facing the biggest life challenges?
Here are four key lessons:
1. Ants never quit. Have you noticed how ants always look for a way around an obstacle? Put your finger in their path. They try to go around it, or over it. They keep looking for a way out. They don’t just stand there and stare. They don’t give up and go back. We should all learn to be like that. There will always be obstacles in our lives, like the coronavirus crisis we are facing. The challenge is to keep trying; keep looking for alternative routes to get to our goals–like working from home.
2. Ants think winter all summer. Remember the story of the ant and the grasshopper? In the middle of the summer, the ant stays busy gathering food for the winter while the grasshopper plays. Ants know that summer — the good times — won’t last forever. Winters come. That’s a good lesson to remember.
3. Ants think summer all winter. As they suffer through the unbearable cold of the winter, ants keep reminding themselves that this won’t last forever, and that summer will soon be here. And with the first rays of the summer sun, the ants come out — ready to work and ready to play.
When we are down and seemingly out, when we go through what looks like a never-ending crisis, it’s good to remind ourselves that this too shall pass. It’s important to retain a positive attitude–an attitude saying things will get better.
4. Ants do all they possibly can. How much food does an ant gather in the summer? All that it possibly can! Now that’s a great work ethic.
One ant doesn’t worry about how much food another ant is collecting. It does not sit back and wonder why it should have to work so hard. Nor does it complain about the poor pay!
Ants just do their bit. They gather all the food they can.
Success and happiness are the result of not giving up.
And there’s just one more lesson to learn from ants. Did you know that an ant can carry objects up to 20 times its own weight?
We could be like that too. We are capable of carrying workloads that are far, far heavier than we’d imagine.
Next time when something is weighing you down, and you feel that you just can’t carry on, don’t fret. Think of the little ant. And remember, you too can carry a lot more on your shoulders!
Don’t quit.
Look ahead.
Stay positive.
And do all you can.
NEVER. GIVE. UP.