Jim Rohn - the great motivational speaker - developed a philosophy what he called the 'Ants Philosophy'.
He identified four key lessons from the behaviour of ants that can help us lead better lives.
1. Ants never quit. If we put our finger in the path of an ant, it will try and go around it, or over it. It will try and find a way out. It won't just stand and stare. It won't give up and go back.
Similarly, there will always be obstacles in our lives. The challenge is to keep trying, keep looking for alternative routes to reach our goals.
Winston Churchill's priceless advice: 'Never give up. Never, never give up!'
2. Ants think about winter all through the summer. Summer represents warmth when the Sun shines brightly and radiates energy and pleasantness. Winter represents cold, snowfall, lack of sunlight, warmth and positive energy. Ants know that summer - the season of good times - won't last forever. Winters will come.When the going is good, sometimes people become proud and arrogant.People need to think, plan and save for the rainy day. Good times may not last, but good people do.
3. Ants maintain the warmth and positive energy of summer in their minds all through the winter. As they suffer through the unbearable cold of the winter, they keep reminding themselves that it won't last forever, and summer will soon be here.As every night leads to a day. And with the first rays of the summer sun, the ants come out - ready to work, 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. Good times will come. It's important to retain a positive attitude, an attitude that says things will get better. As the old saying goes, tough times don't last. Tough people do.
4. Ants are the best example of hard work. They gather as much food they possibly can. They teach one of the best work ethics. Do all you can! 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 usually the result of giving 100% - doing all we possibly can. If we look around us, we will find that successful people are those who just do all they possibly can.
The four simple steps of Jim Rohn's 'Ant Philosophy' - Don't quit.
Look ahead.
Stay positive.
And do all you can.
And there's just one more lesson to learn from ants. An ant can carry objects up to 20 times their own weight. Maybe we are like that too. We can carry burdens on our shoulders and manage workloads that are far, far heavier than our imagination.Next time when something's bothering us and weighing us down, we need to think of the little ant.
