Don't Sell Yourself Short

The human race is a story of people selling themselves short and settling for less than they are capable of achieving. Instead of achievement, we get addicted to activity. In time we confuse activity with achievement.

The following story is a good analogy of how many of us live our lives.

The renowned French Naturalist, Jean-Henri Fabre, conducted an interesting experiment with processionary caterpillars, so-called because of their habit of following a lead caterpillar, each with its eyes half closed and head fitted snugly against the rear end of the preceding caterpillar.

Fabre was able to get them on to the rim of a large flowerpot with the lead caterpillar connected up to the last one, thus forming a complete circle, which started moving around in a procession, with neither beginning nor end. In the middle of the circle created by their procession, he placed some pine needles, their favourite food. Each caterpillar followed the one ahead thinking that it was heading for the food.

The naturalist expected that after a while they would discover their predicament or get tired of their useless procession, and move off in some new direction. But that was not the case. Through sheer force of habit, the creeping circle of caterpillars kept moving around the rim of the pot, quite oblivious to the world around them. Thry were busy being busy, blindly following the caterpillar in front.

Round and round they went for seven days and nights! After a week of this mindless activity, the caterpillars started to drop dead because of exhaustion and starvation. They died with the food they were searching for just inches away. Because of their nature and this circular arrangement, they all assumed that the caterpillar in front was leading.

The processionary caterpillars were locked into this lifestyle of rigidly following their instincts, habits, past experience, tradition, custom and precedent - the way they always had done things. In reality, they got nowhere.

The caterpillars confused activity with accomplishment. They confused being busy with results. Many of us are guilty of the same mistake, but we have no excuse because we are blessed with intelligence and freewill, and therefore the ability to change our direction anytime we choose. However, we are creatures of habit and can all too readily get into ruts, which can become vicious circles, and which, in turn, lead nowhere except to a life of frustration and dysfunction, if not mediocrity.

Being busy is our way of feeling in control of our lives… until our busywork spirals out of control and eventually robs us of life itself. . Many people mistakenly feel that being busy means you're doing things that are important. But, what it really means is that you are no longer in control, often doing things that aren’t critical, necessary or important.

So, while it might seem easier in the short term to give away control and, like the processionary caterpillars, even follow others blindly, it is generally riskier in the long term. Being busy gives you an excuse for poor performance and a way to ignore parts of your life that need attention.

Ask yourself, “What is the point of my life - to live a FULL life (filled with busywork) or to live a FULFILLED life?”

As intelligent beings, we expect our activities in life to be purposeful.

So, if you are one of the many people who finds themselves stuck in a rut and headed nowhere, I challenge you to take back control and live a meaningful and abundant life. Live your life on purpose and for a purpose.

According to Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”