The Parable Of The Boiled Frog: Be Wary Of The Small Changes That Will Stifle Your Growth
Wake up to the time you are given…
Who doesn’t love a parable, a short, pithy, didactic story, that explicitly, and easily gets a message across?
Many years ago I had a cookbook titled, The Galloping Gourmet. In this book the author suggested that the best way to cook lobster was to put it in a pan of tepid water, allowing the lobster to become at one with his environment, and gradually increase the temperature until the poor creature is so accustomed to the heat, he falls asleep and is subsequently cooked.
I lost my taste for lobster after that.
A similar story is perpetuated in the personal development industry, but in this case, the victim is a frog. It poses the question of what would happen if you were to put a frog into boiling water. No prizes for guessing that the frog would just jump out!
However, if we put him into some tepid water, the story might play out differently. He will feel quite comfortable in his surrounds. Consequently, he will stay there, and even if the water temperature is very slowly adjusted, the frog will be so relaxed in his environment that his energy will dissipate, he won’t notice his danger, and he will stay.
However, as his environment becomes increasingly-stressful, he won’t be able to cope, and subsequently, will be cooked.
The story is but a metaphor, a perfect analogy of how things can go awry if we are not alert to the small, climatic changes that occur in our lives.
What exactly, killed the frog?
Was it the boiling water?
Was it poor judgement?
Complacency?
Failure to notice a changing environment?
Let’s imagine that you are the frog. When you are young and fit, life goes along swimmingly. Life is good.
But as we age, things start to change. Things happen. We might suddenly lose the job we felt so comfortable in, or fail to get the coveted promotion we were so sure of. We might get sick.
Have we prepared for these eventualities?
In the frog’s case, he failed to notice the changing environment he was in. And that is what caused his demise.
Our lives are constantly changing, often small variations that we don’t necessarily notice, and yet, if we don’t take note of, and respond to, the changes, we can easily find ourselves cooked.
One year can lead to ten, or twenty, and suddenly we are scrambling to get out of the boiled water we find ourselves in. And that is the lesson to take from the parable, get out and change your ways before you suffer a similar fate.
Take steps to counter the changes that will inevitably happen for you. Start to be more aware of the days, that can become weeks, the weeks that turn into years, and prepare for eventualities.
I used to love giving this homework to my students. It’s to do with the power of doubling. So the students would take home a note that suggested that instead of doing homework for one whole month, they would work each day for one cent, doing dishes, taking the garbage out, or any other job their parents suggested they do.
The only stipulation was that they get paid for each job, starting at one cent, and doubling each day.
It was set out as a contract. Parents were asked to read the contract and sign on the dotted line.
One cent sounds like nothing initially, the students were more excited about not having formal homework, so in order to pump enthusiasm, we’d work the first two weeks out together.
- One cent.
- two cents
- four cents
- eight cents
- sixteen cents
- thirty-two cents
- sixty-four cents…and we have only got to the end of week one. That’s when it suddenly became exciting.
- $1.28
- $2.56
- $5.12
- $10.24
- $20.48
- $40.96
- $81.92
Can you imagine the excitement that had been built up? It was palpable.
Believe it or not, a few, but only a few parents, signed on the dotted line. Just as well we didn’t follow through on their obligations!
It’s a wonderfully easy way to exemplify how money can accrue over time. No parent ever complained, and I hope that in one way, the take away for the students, was that it is important to prepare financially for our future.
Would that we could double our money so easily, but just managing to avoid not becoming a cooked frog, is a worthy takeaway!
These students are now adults. I keep in touch with a few, and all remember the cooked frog story!
The thing is, that one little story, and the discussion that ensued, was a salutary lesson about change and how fast it may occur without our being aware.
The need to be fiscally responsible is one thing, but it also must permeate into other areas of our lives:
- our health
- our debt level
- our social lives
- our physical well-being
- our diet
- and most importantly, our family lives
These are all part of the big picture of life. Attending to all of them will hopefully ensure that we can avoid the fate of the cooked frog.
Comfort quashes our spirit, often leading to a worrying stupor. As creatures of habit, it is difficult to get ourselves out of the daily humdrum.
But the more humdrum and predictable our lives, the less growth we will experience.
‘Routines can be stable and comforting, but they can also turn stale and confining over time. All those inspirational messages telling you to break out of your comfort zone aren’t just trying to sell you bungee cords. Doing something new and potentially frightening helps stave off burnout and is good for your brain. Still, it’s pretty hard to shake yourself out of a routine, and there’s plenty of science explaining why — and how to do it.’
‘Times of stress are also times that are signals for growth, and if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.’ — Abraham Twerski
