Several months ago I posted an insight on social media that gained a lot of traction. The basic premise was “How could you ask me to do that…? I’m just NOT that kind of brain!”
How often do children get asked to perform tasks or duties they have a lot of difficulty with? How often do you as an adult struggle with certain responsibilities or skills that you wish you could perform more confidently and more easily?
Don’t be hard on yourself. The issue could be this: you are not wired for it.
And guess what? That’s okay.
What’s not okay…? EXPECTING A FISH TO CLIMB A TREE!
Or expecting someone to perform a task that is just not who they are or how their brain or body is built and then to judge them for failure is not only unjust; it’s cruel.
Yet it happens all the time – in the workplace, at school and in daily life.
Here’s a fable written by a school superintendent in Cincinnati, Ohio that speaks volumes to this issue.
The Animal School: A Fable, by George Reavis
Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world”, so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, he was better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn, and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that, except the duck.
The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much make-up work in swimming.
The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charley horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.
At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceeding well and also run, climb, and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.
The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy, because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.
———
Does this sound familiar? This message is transferrable to ALL walks of life.
Each of us has our own set of passions, skill sets, perspectives, and motivations. Trying to make everyone fit in the same uniform box does not make any sense!
Not only does it impact the individual; it impacts the whole as well. How can society excel if its members are not happy, healthy, and thriving? How can someone be healthy, happy, and thriving if they are not being WHO THEY ARE?
Systems that require you to be inauthentic, intimidated, or feeling unworthy and less than others, are not worth a nanosecond of your precious time.
This does not mean we don’t work on weaker areas or try new activities that will stretch our comfort zone…that is important for our growth.
There is a fine line, however, between opportunity for growth and an activity that shuts a person down.
That’s why I love Brain Fitness philosophy and tools. They allow us to build on our strengths, improve on our weaker areas, and discover the confidence to navigate change and new possibilities that are appropriately within reach.
In the process, you get to better understand yourself, your gifts, and how to ENSURE they get out into the world!
That’s the kind of learning and growth I can stand behind. How about you?
Jill