Thursday, April 25, 2024
Carol Goodman Heizer
I’VE BEEN THINKING
Carol Goodman Heizer is an author who moved to Hood County from Louisville, Kentucky in 2019. She has had short stories and articles published in six editions of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. Her column for the Hood County News will appear every two weeks. She was a public school teacher for 17 years, earlier in her professional career.
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Jim Corbett often told the story of the day he was out jogging for an upcoming fight. As he continued his run, he came upon a man who was fishing. It was time in his workout for a short break, so Corbett decided to stop and watch the man for a while.
Shortly the man began pulling and tugging at his line, and quickly pulled in a large trout. The fisherman examined his catch closely, then tossed it back into the water. After a few more moments, the man pulled in a large perch, examined it closely, and then threw it back in the water, too. Before long, the old fisherman brought in a small trout. He examined it closely, put it in his bucket, and prepared to leave.
Corbett’s curiosity peaked, and he asked the old man why he had thrown two larger fish back, yet kept the small one. The fisherman replied, “Small frying pan.”
We laugh at such foolishness, yet we must ask ourselves if we, too, do not pass by larger opportunities for fear of not being capable of handling them. We jump to the conclusion that we are not up to the task, that somehow we lack whatever it would require to complete the chore. We look at other individuals’ accomplishments and think that “lady luck” was good to them.
The French author Max O’Rell once wrote, “Lucks means the hardships and privations which you have not hesitated to endure; the long nights you have devoted to work. Luck means the appointments you have never failed to keep; the trains you have never failed to catch.”
Perhaps the mark of successful individuals is in those who realize the importance of setting goals for themselves so they may create a timeline of achievements. For if we do not set goals, how will we ever know if we have achieved them? We often fail because of the power – or lack of power – of our minds.
Elephant trainers tell us that the huge beasts can be taught to stay by their stake in the ground, held only with a small rope. That is, however, after they have been trained by being held in place with chains they cannot break. They are held in place, not by the power of the rope. Not by the power of the trainer. Not by the power of the stake.
Rather, they are held in place by their own mentality. Their huge bulk could easily snap the small ropes, but because they believe they cannot escape, they do not.
Our world is full of instances where men, women, children, and even animals have accomplished tasks thought by everyone around them to be impossible.
For example, Woodrow Wilson, as young boy of nine, did not know the letters of the alphabet. He finally learned to read at age 11. The adults in his world thought he was dull and backward. But later in life, he entered Princeton University where he received average grades. Still later in life, he became president of the United States.
Winston Churchill had much difficulty in school, yet he became a national leader and prime minister of England.
One final example is the lowly bumble bee. According to the laws of aerodynamics, our bee friend cannot fly. But no one ever told him he could not fly … and so he does.
And what about us? Are we listening and watching for opportunity to knock? Or are we waiting for it to break down the door? Someone once said, “Four things come not back – the spoken word, the sped arrow, time past, and the neglected opportunity.”
Most of us can admit we have permitted opportunities to slip through our fingers at one time or another. But we can also take this opportunity to confirm within ourselves that we will, from this time forward, be more vigilant to take notice of those occasions that come to all of us, at one time or another.
Are we willing to persist in taking risks?
cgheizer@gmail.com
