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Who doesn’t love a good “and the moral of the story is…” lesson? I know I do and when I was a kid, these kinds of stories were part of our childhood education. Today though, they don’t really make their way into the classroom.
A lot of the moral tales read to us as kids centered around being kind or having a strong sense of purpose and determination. I found one recently that harkens back to similar stories I read as a child and I’m pleased to share it with our readers:
Shark Bait
A marine biologist was involved in an experiment with a shark. He placed a shark in a tank along with other small bait fishes.
As expected, the shark ate every single fish.
The marine biologist then inserted a clear fiberglass wall to create two sections within the tank. He placed the shark in one section and smaller fish in the other section.
The shark quickly attacked, but then he bounced off the fiberglass. The shark kept on repeating this behavior and it just wouldn’t stop trying. All the while, the small fish in the other section remained unharmed and carefree. After about an hour, the shark finally gave up.
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive. Eventually, the shark got tired and simply stopped attacking altogether.
The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass. The shark, however, didn’t attack. It was trained to believe in the existence of a barrier between it and the bait fish.
The moral: Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark, we choose to stay with past failure and believe that we will always be unsuccessful. We build a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier between where we are and where we want to go exists. Don’t give up. Keep trying, because success may be just a try away.
– Author unknown
The moral of this story is right on. We shouldn’t be so quick to give up and abandon our dreams. If you have a set-back, figure out how to overcome it — your goals/dreams may take a bit longer to achieve, but at least you’ll get there. When we give up…story over.
