“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.”
- George Bernard Shaw
The Pony in the Dung Heap
This story comes from Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life. It’s a wonderful story of optimism President Reagan loved to tell about two young boys.
The boys were alike in every way but one. One was a hope-filled optimist who only ever saw the bright side of life. The other was a dark pessimist who only saw the downside in every situation.
On the twins’ birthday, the parents gave the pessimist a room filled with brand-new toys. But when the parents went to see him in his room, the boy was crying. “What’s the matter?” his parents asked. “Don’t you want to play with the toys?” The boy told his parents he was afraid if he played with any of the new toys they might break.
Unlike his brother, the other twin, who saw the world in an optimistic light, received nothing but an enormous pile of manure for his birthday. When his parents went to check on him and his gift, they found him digging with delight; scoop after scoop of manure shoveled with his bare hands went flying into the air. “What are you doing?” the parents asked, “With all this manure,” the little boy replied with excitement, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Connecting this quote to the story. In our own lives, we have the power to choose our outlook and how we approach situations. Our choices determine the course of our lives and the person we become. We are responsible for our happiness and the way we choose to shape ourselves. In essence, the story and the quote remind us that our outlook on life and the choices we make ultimately shape our experiences and the person we become.
This week’s Chasing Influence tip: Face challenges with optimism and things will work out.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
Updates on Chasing Influence
Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life is available in Kindle, softcover, hardcover, and audiobook editions.
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[1] ©Troy Urdahl, 2024