I talk to a lot of people who are eager for the “easy way” in life. Everyone wants to take a shortcut past struggle and a beeline for the best the world has to offer. I get it. Who wouldn’t want that—right? Sometimes though, obstacles are in our path for a reason. The struggle often makes us stronger. More learned. Better able to handle what comes next on our path.
Let me share a little story with you. It’s about a man who found an Emperor moth cocoon. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. One day, a small opening appeared, and the man sat and watched the moth for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then the moth seemed to stop making any progress, as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further. It appeared to be stuck. So, the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand so that they would be able to support the body, which, he assumed, would contract in time. But neither happened!
In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the moth’s body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would come only after the struggle. By depriving the moth of this struggle, he inadvertently deprived it of its ability to fly.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would undoubtedly rob ourselves of valuable lessons that teach us what we need to learn and help us gain strength and skills that we need to thrive. Don’t get too hung up on the struggles. Let them teach you what you need and keep your eyes peeled for the silver lining and opportunities that they almost always reveal. Those little gems are the rewards, and they are smile-worthy.
We’re here to help you on your journey. Reach out often—especially if you’re struggling.
Darryl Davis, bestselling author of “How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate” and owner of Darryl Davis Seminars, has trained and coached over 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe for more than 27 years. He is the founder of the Next Level® real estate training system, The Power Program®, which has helped agents double their production over their previous year. For more information, and the new agent tools that can help take you to your Next Level®, please contact darryl@darrylspeaks.com or visit www.ThePowerProgram.com/NewAgentSuccess
