The Ant Philosophy

I (Jim Rohn) have decided that enterprise is better than ease. If you rest too long, the weeds take over the garden in the summer. Life doesn’t stand still, and random negativity will start overwhelming the positive arrangements of life if you just let things go. So we’ve all got to have a positive attitude about activity.

Let me give you one of the best examples I know. An ancient phrase states, “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.” That’s a powerful philosophy. Many people are getting by with using half their might.

That may be their own personal philosophy of activity, but how much more could they achieve if they used all of their might? You’ve got to evaluate that question for yourself and apply it to your own life. Put it on your mental scale and come up with your own answers of how it applies to you. How should you live your life? Are you working to your full potential now?

I’m teaching children about the ant philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part: ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever.

An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because important to be realistic. In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun. Think ahead.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.

This philosophy applies to leadership skills. Average people look forward to getting off of work, while successful people look forward to getting on with it. Once you switch from wanting to quit to wanting to work harder, you start to transform your life into the activity.

Here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-that-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Ants can surely teach us a lot when it comes to working hard.

* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn