Be like the bamboo

Change can be a slow process in the beginning. In fact it may seem easier to swim through treacle than keep on slogging day after endless day when you cannot see any visible proof that things are happening. By keeping to the same principles day after day, repeating the successes, eliminating those things that do not work you will eventually reach your goal. And sometimes - when things just click into place it may seem like we have had an overnight success, but that's not always the case as you well know.

Bamboo's like those goals we set for ourselves.

The first year we plant bamboo, nothing happens. The plant looks like it's going to die. But what you cannot see is what the bamboo is doing beneath the surface. The first year the bamboo is planted it is laying down massive root structures. The following year, the bamboo grows 5,10, 15 feet in a short space of time. The bamboo has laid it's foundations and from that it can grow - but from the outside it appears nothing is happening.

The other amazing thing about bamboo is it's almost impossible to kill because of those deep penetrating roots.

Let your goals be like the bamboo. Take time to put energy into the roots, repeat the fundamentals day after day and watch yourself become that "overnight success" - except we know the real truth of course.
 

Comments

[marie]

thank you! my job is exactly like that. it feels like a hard slog uphill. or digging out of an avalanche with a teaspoon as someone once told me! it's keeping the faith that our principles will hold us together for the time it takes to make that difference.