If you know me even a little bit, you know that I absolutely hate ants, I have a regular exterminated and if I see just one, he will get a call. But over the years I have read enough about ants to know that they are very smart and will probably out survive any disaster we have here on our earth (pretty amazing). Ants know what they need to do and they do it and allow nothing to stand in their way. I personally think the only reason that God put ants here on the earth was to allow us to observe them and learn the lessons they have to teach us about determination, goals, focus and discipline. I came across this blog post all about the lessons we can learn from ants and found that it was very cleaver and truthful. I hope you take the time to read it in full as is valuable information that we can learn from these pesky insects and you will find very helpful.
Top Ten Reasons Why Ants Are Better Goal Setters Than You
by Brad Isaac on October 22, 2006
You’re about to learn why ants have a philosophy that makes them unstoppable!
Top Ten Reasons Why Ants Are Better Goal Setters Than You
1. Ants follow proven instruction. When scout ants find food, they spray a pheromone and hightail it back to the nest. The pheromone makes a trail that leads back to the food. Worker Ants at the nest don’t argue that there’s a better way back to the food, they just follow the trail.
A human, though, will see a proven path to success and try to change it. They’ll think they see shortcuts and take those instead of the proven path.
I read a report recently the success rate with franchises was higher if the owner didn’t have a high IQ. Why? Because the franchisees who were smart usually veer off the proven path. They change the working formula and in doing so mess up their own success.
If you watch a scout ant, once he finds food he runs back to the nest, sometimes he gets excited and zigzags a little, he might even make a circle. When the other ants follow the trail do they say “hey we’re going in a circle? Let’s take this shortcut?” No! They follow the proven path back to the food. The result? Everyone gets the food.
2. Ants are determined. If you tell an ant there is food over a hill but there are 5 trees down blocking the path, does the ant think twice? No, an ant will climb a house 1000 times its size if it has to make its journey.
This makes a guy feel bad for putting down a research manual because it has too many pages doesn’t it? Just think of the number of people who quit because the path is “too difficult,” too hard to follow. I face that a lot with the people I mentor on computer networking.
“Brad, that book is 1800 pages long, you mean I have to know all of that?” They ask.
What would an ant say? Would an ant ever say, “You know, now that you mention it, you’re right. I never thought about it that way. It is too hard. We might as well put that big book away and work at McDonalds.”
(click link below for article in full)
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