Chicken Little

We have all probably heard the story of Chicken Little. For those of you haven't, I will add it to the bottom of this post. Are you Chicken Little, one of Chicken Little's "friends", Foxy Woxy, or the King? I am going to explain how I see the characters in the timeless classic. See which character you are at any moment in life. What character would you like to be?

Chicken Little- This kind of person is the one who freaks out at the first sign of "trouble" in their lives. This person only sees the problems in life and seems to just run from problem to problem. The first sign of trouble and they act like their whole life is falling apart. 

Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, & Turkey Lurkey- These are the kinds of friends that you invite to your pity party when you are feeling down. They drop what they are doing a buy into your state of emotional wreck. They confirm your beliefs that you were wronged in some way that you have a right to feel the way you do. 

Foxy Woxy- The fox is the person who swops in and tries to take advantage of your weakened state and the situation. They seem like they are trying to help, but when in reality, they are lying to you only to gain an advantage.

The King- The King is the voice of reason and problem solver. The person who wasn't afraid to tell the truth, even if it might offend you beliefs in your current situation.

Do you live your like Chicken Little? Maybe you are one of Chicken Little's enablers, Henny, Cocky, or Turkey? Are you a Foxy, just trying to figure out how you can gain an advantage through the pain of others? Maybe you are reasonable and truthful King? We have all probably been each character at some point in our lives. Maybe, some more than others.

The story of Chicken Little would have been completely different, if he(?) would have decided to react differently to what was happening to him. I know that things in life can sometimes really catch us off guard and we feel some pretty strong emotions. But, those emotions have not lasting power over us, unless we continue to supply them with energy. As long as we feed these emotions with negativity, they will eventually consume us and severely inhibit our ability to see solutions. Chicken Little was then able to convince others to buy into their negative perception in their situation. They contributed to their negative emotion and they themselves, became a part of the problem. I haven't met to may Foxy Woxy type of people in my life, but I know that they are out there. They are the the people will support you in your negative emotion only to find out how it will benefit them. Maybe they just want to know your gossip for future ammunition. The King, on the other hand, was a man of empathy. He understood the emotional attachment that these people had to their situation, but only saw solutions and didn't feed into their negativity. The King knew that his position might not be popular, but it was true to who he was and he spoke the truth.

In the end, the King gave Chicken Little and umbrella. Find your umbrella in life. We all have tools available to us that will prevent us from getting so bent out of shape over situations in life. We all have the ability and responsibility to keep our emotional reactions in check. We can't allow the situations in life to control how we live our life. Sure, things will happen that will push our limits, but the umbrella is there to catch those things that we can't control. 

Which character will you be the next time life throws an acorn at you? Will you be that friend that joins the pity party? Will you be the fox, only out to gain at the expense of others? Maybe you will be the king and offer solutions?

Adapt, Improvise, And Overcome to become your very best.

Chicken Little

By Merri Beth Stephens

One day Chicken Little was walking in the woods

when -- KERPLUNK -- an acorn fell on her head

"Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The sky is

falling! I must go and tell the king."

On her way to the king's palace, Chicken Little met

Henny Penny. Henny Penny said that she was going

into the woods to hunt for worms.

"Oh no, don't go!" said Chicken Little. "I was there

and the sky fell on my head! Come with me to tell the

king."

So Henny Penny joined Chicken Little and they went

along and went along as fast as they could.

Soon they met Cocky Locky, who said, "I'm going to

the woods to hunt for seeds."

"Oh no, don't go!" said Henny Penny. "The sky is

falling there! Come with us to tell the king."

So Cocky Locky joined Henny Penny and Chicken

Little, and they went along and went along as fast as

they could.

Soon they met Turkey Lurkey, who was planning to

go to the woods to look for berries.

"Oh no, don't go!" said Cocky Locky. "The sky is

falling there! Come with us to tell the king

"

So

Turkey Lurkey joined Cocky Locky, Henny Penny

and Chicken Little, and they went along as fast as

they could.

Then who should appear on the path but sly old Foxy

Woxy.

"Where are you going, my fine feathered friends?"

asked Foxy Woxy. He spoke in a polite manner, so as

not to frighten them.

"The sky is falling!" cried Chicken Little. "We must

tell the king."

"I know a shortcut to the palace," said Foxy Woxy

sweetly. "Come and follow me."

But wicked Foxy Woxy did not lead the others to

the palace. He led them right up to the entrance of

his foxhole. Once they were inside, Foxy Woxy

was planning to gobble them up!

Just as Chicken Little and the others were about to go

into the fox's hole, they heard a strange sound and

stopped.

It was the king's hunting dogs, growling and

howling.

How Foxy Woxy ran, across the meadows and

through the forests, with the hounds close behind.

He ran until he was far, far away and never dared

to come back again.

After that day, Chicken Little always carried an

umbrella with her when she walked in the woods. The

umbrella was a present from the king. And if --

KERPLUNK -- an acorn fell, Chicken Little didn't

mind a bit. In fact, she didn't notice it at all.

Success Demands Preparation

So many times we ask ourselves, why this or that isn't or hasn't happened in our lives. Why isn't my marriage better? Why haven't I gotten that promotion at work? Why can't I get out of debt? We keep looking for the answers to these kinds of questions and seem to keep coming up empty. Each and every one of the answers that you can ever seek in life begins with you. 

You are the reason things do and don't happen in your life. You are the beginning and ending to your life's story. How your life plays out all begins with your preparation. You must be prepared for what you want your life to look like. You can't expect to have something that you have never prepared for. Most people don't want to do the prep work because it seems thankless and because it requires effort. Being prepared does required a lot of effort and it seem like those efforts go unnoticed. But at the end of the work is the reward. 

I am a firm believe that if you are not willing to put in the effort to change something in your life, you really have given up your right to complain about it. Are you in an unhealthy relationship? Unless you are willing to do your part to fix the situation, you have no right to complain about it. Wanting that raise or promotion at work? Are you giving your job your best efforts, or just giving enough to meet standards. Nobody said that you can't raise the standards. Stop complaining if your are unwilling to put in the work to have better in your life.

Success demands preparation. The work that you put in now, no matter what you are seeking to be successful at, is your opportunity to be as prepared as possible. You can't go back and change what has been done. Be honest in your preparation. Don't allow yourself to settle for another lame excuse. Decide if you really want to see this change in your life or if you just like complaining about it. Both decisions are totally in your hands and you will live with their consequences. You are the beginnings to your answers.

Adapt, Improvise, And Overcome to become your very best.

Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk, But...

It's easy to talk the talk but walking the walk can be much tougher. We all know those who only talk the talk but just won't back it up by walking the walk. We might even be guilty of doing this. It really is easier to talk the talk the talk, but to back it up with action holds a certain amount or responsibility. When we step into the realm of walking the walk, people have not choice but to take notice of what it is we are doing. We are then putting ourselves into a vulnerable state in which we are now subject to the opinions of others. That can be a very intimidating situation. 

For several years, I talked the talk and walked the walk of a happily married man in my first marriage. Even though I was talking the talk and walking , in reality is was not happily married. Not only was I fooling the public and those closest to me, I eventually began to fool myself. Even some of those closest to me, saw past the talk and the walk. Once I had gotten my divorce, those who knew the truth, came to me and told me so. It's not that they were rubbing it in my face, it was a matter of them coming to me to let me know what they had known all along. I have been fortunate enough to have some great people in my life who have been there for me when I needed strength and moral support.

Many people have not only mastered talking the talk, but they have also mastered walking the walk. As good as they are at these two things, the reality is, try as they might, they are still a product of their thoughts. You can put on the best front, but your real intentions will eventually come to the surface. We are a product of our thoughts. We might be able to cover up our thoughts with the talk and the walk most of the time, but trust me, our thoughts have a way of coming to the surface. Especially to those who know us the best. 

Those who know me personally, know that I can talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to being a store manager. They also know that I can talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to inspiring, motivating, and coaching them. However, I also believe in being transparent, so here it comes. I have had my priorities out of whack and then I end up procrastinating something that shouldn't be. I put off things that I believe are my goals, when in reality they are only dreams, because I have never put a deadline on them or any effort in making them a reality. I have had a dream to write a book, but I kept putting it off and putting it off. I made a commitment to get to work on it this year. I am happy to say that I have made a lot of progress on making that dream become a reality this year. I have about 80% of my first step done. The goal is to have the book completed by the end of August and then the finished product in hand by Christmas. 

The point is, as much as we put on a front and no matter how convincing, your thoughts actually control your life. Eventually your thoughts leak out into your life and expose the real you. The only way to avoid this trap of just talking the talk and walking the walk all the while trying to hide your thoughts, is to be authentic to yourself. Stop hiding behind your false sense of security of the facade that you have created. When you are authentic to your true nature and actually become more connected to the world around you. Be your thoughts, walk the thoughts, talk the thoughts. That is a life worth living.

Adapt, Improvise, And Overcome to become your very best.