Without learning, pain multiplies.
Throughout the ages, parents teach their children the importance of the little things. We are taught small actions add up.
Classic stories reinforce the lessons parents hope we’ll remember:
Henny Penny
The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back
The Boy who Cried Wolf
The Lorax
Every moment of choice has impact. The warning signs are there and the lessons are everywhere. Small behaviors have big consequences.
Our everyday actions add up. Brush your teeth every day. Eat healthy. Exercise. Tell the truth. Keep your word.
But how many times can we make a mistake before problems arise?
How many times can we neglect to brush our teeth before decay?
How much junk food can we eat before our health declines?
How many nights can we scroll before our brains rot?
How many lies can we tell before before trust disappears?
And how many challenging conversations can we avoid before our relationships unravel?
If small actions add up, how many times does it actually take? How long before we destroy something we’ve built? Is it days, weeks, months, years, decades?
Maybe the most important lesson of all those classic children’s stories is:
Don’t wait! Change now!
We don’t always remember the important lessons and deeper meaning in the stories our parents read to us. We become slow to change. We forget the words of The Lorax:
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
Elders tell cautionary tales because they have lived it. My work gives me the same front row seat to transformational theater. With a long career in experiential education, I’ve come to know exactly how long it takes to change. And I know what happens when people don’t change.
It’s the best part of my job and the worst. Watching someone learn and grow is the best. Watching someone repeat painful mistakes is the worst. It’s either success by a thousand wins. Or, death by a thousand cuts.
We don’t always realize how much pain accumulates.
Every moment in life adds up. We are the sum total of all our choices. When it comes to pain: Do you endure it or learn from it?
The faster we learn, the less pain we endure.
Without learning, pain multiplies.
Listen to the elders. Remember the timeless lessons hidden inside the classic children's stories. Learn and change now. Every moment adds up.
