Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.
William Shakespeare
1564 – 1616
When I was a young boy, summers were spent playing ball and fishing. Baseball took only a small portion of the time; our favorite activity was fishing.
Now, you shouldn’t confuse what we called fishing with what the serious angler does. We had very limited equipment: generally a homemade or cane pole, some fishing line, and whatever sort of hook we could find. Buying bait was out of the question; we dug up worms or caught crickets and crawfish.
But even when we went fishing, it didn’t take long for us to get bored. So the majority of that time wasn’t actually fishing. Instead, we’d explore the wildlife in and around the creek.
One thing I vividly remember is catching and playing with turtles. We’d spot them in the shallows of the creek or on the bank and we’d pick them up and play with them.
I must remind you that we were young boys, probably no more than 12 years old, so we were easily amused. When we caught a turtle, we’d put it in a clearing and then touch its head with a small stick. The turtle wasn’t hurt, but it would immediately retract its head and legs, retreating inside its shell. It wouldn’t stick its head out again until it perceived that there wasn’t any danger.
Once the turtle emerged from its shell, it would start walking. If we touched its head again, it would immediately retreat back into its shell. Sometimes this game would go on for an hour. (Like I said, we were young.)
We could have learned a valuable lesson from the turtle. At the first sign of any trouble, the turtle retreats into the comfort of its shell. But it can’t make any progress from inside its shell. To move forward, it has to stick its neck out.
What could you accomplish if you occasionally stuck your neck out? And what do you expect to accomplish if you never stick your neck out? The simple truth is that far too many of us act like a turtle. We have a comfort zone and we’re deathly afraid to stick our necks out. We’re content to stay in our shells. And as a result, it’s impossible for us to reach our goals.
I’m not suggesting you do anything reckless. However, I am suggesting that you take an honest look at your behavior. If you find yourself pulling back into your shell every time there’s a little disturbance, you’ll never get very far in life. Remember the turtle. If you want to achieve on a higher level, you need to stick your neck out.
You can measure your potential for success by the time you spend outside your comfort zone. The more you stick your neck out, the more you’ll learn and grow, and the more you’ll achieve.
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.
Jim Rohn
1930 – 2009
Copyright © 2024 John Chancellor
Sir, You must understand that, because of turtle’s this habit , it lives very long life compared to other water based creatures. As per my info , turtle lives for more than 100 years!!!! Decision is ours to live Longer like Charlie Mungar/ Warren Buffet or achieve great success like Steve Jobs in short span of life??????
Rohit,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this Lesson.
The life span of a turtle depends on a number of factors, the most important being the particular species. The type we were playing with were smaller and generally have a lifespan of 15 – 25 years. The larger sea turtle can live more than 100 years.
Steve Jobs died from pancreatic cancer and there is no indication that his work habits contributed to the development of the cancer.
We do make a lot of choices in our lives and those choices do have consequences. Actually constantly living in fear of what might happen is thought to negatively impact our health.