A lady was once heating up a pot of water on a gas stove with the intent of cooking pasta for her family for dinner. A frog fell into the pot while it was sitting on the stove. While it wasn’t his intention to be stuck in a pot of water, he didn’t try to escape. He was comfortable enough as he was.
The lady soon turned on the flame to begin boiling the water. As the water’s temperature began to rise, the frog was able to adjust his body temperature accordingly, so he remained in the pot without trying to do anything to change the situation.
However, as the water approached its boiling point, the frog’s body temperature could no longer keep up. He finally tried to jump out of the pot, but with water temperature continuing to increase, he didn’t have it in him to make the leap.
It was too late for the frog to save himself.
The Moral:
Things don’t always go as planned in life, and they certainly don’t always go the way we want them to. But, no matter how bad a situation is, it’s critical to be proactive and face the problem head-on.
Unlike the frog, who waited until the last minute to try to do anything about the problem he was clearly facing, it’s important to project the future outcomes of the obstacles that hinder you and mediate them before they get past the point of no return.
You have to avoid wasting time and take appropriate action before problems get out of hand or become too much to handle.
Many times these problems have been existing for a while but like the frog, we get so comfortable being in that state of mind that we don’t see the long term effects of a negative mindset or habit.
Those poor eating choices over time lead to obesity and poor health conditions, those small purchases on your credit card not paid off at the end of the month slowly lead to significant debt or the constant negative self talk you tell yourself can lead to anxiety and depression.
Sometimes we do not feel the water boiling because we are not keeping our self awareness in check. Then before we realize it, we are in very deep and the struggle to get out of the hole is much harder.
Teach your teens to ask for help, be aware of their flaws and see them as places to grow and learn so they are no longer viewed as flaw. Teach them to plan ahead and strategize for the things that are important to them or will have impact on them.
I do not know many teens who will say they love school, but if we can teach them the value of working smart and taking those daunting papers, tests and projects and planning out when and how they will get it done, they will certainly feel less stress, pressure and anxiety.