Once upon a time (yes, story time again!), there lived a washerman. Every morning, he would take the clothes from the villagers that had to be washed and tie them in two bundles. He would place each bundle on his two donkeys.
After tying a rope to each donkey, he would walk them down the river. There, he would tie the donkeys to a tree, unload the bundle and take it to the river. There, he would wash and dry the clothes. At the end of the day, he would carry the clean and folded clothes in the bundle, place them on the donkeys, untie them and walk them back to his house.
This was his routine, day in and day out. He knew the routine, and so did his donkeys. One day, he’d had an argument with his wife, and in a huff, he placed the bundles on the donkey and walked off to the river. The donkeys solemnly followed him. The walk to the river calmed him down, and as he reached the tree, he was shocked to find that he had only one rope.
He couldn’t leave one of his donkeys untied all day. What if he wandered away? The donkeys were important to how he earned his living. He was reluctant to walk back home and fetch another rope. He wondered how to solve this dilemma when he remembered an old sage sitting under a tree a short distance away.
He ran to the old sage and narrated his predicament. The sage listened to him patiently and asked him, “Do you have one rope?”
The washerman replied, “Yes, wise one.”
“Tie one of your donkeys with the rope. And mime tying a rope to the other donkey. He will be there and won’t wander away when you do your work.”
The washerman wasn’t sure how this would work, but he took the advice of the old sage, removed the bundles off the donkeys, tied one with a rope and mimed tying the other with a rope.
He took the bundle to the river and washed and dried the clothes. Much to his relief, the donkeys were still there in the evening. He placed each bundle on the donkeys and untied the donkey’s rope. He dragged them home, but the one without a rope wouldn’t budge.
He shouted, “Oh, stupid donkey. Come, it is getting late.”
The donkey dugs its heels to the ground.
The washerman was stupefied, and he ran to the old sage and narrated his predicament. The old sage asked, “Did you untie the rope on the other donkey?”
The man replied, “No.”
“You mimed tying it to the tree, and now you have to untie it so the donkey can walk back with you.”
The man returned to the tree, mimed untying the rope, and now the donkey happily walked home with him.
Creating new habits can be challenging. Breaking old ones can be even more complicated.
What are the invisible habits that are keeping you stuck?
What are the habits that no longer serve you but you are unable to untie yourself from?
P.S. If you are ready to create or quit some habits, work with me for 1:1 career coaching. Hit reply, and I’d love to share more.
đź’Ś Siri
