Growth through Adversity

Larry the Lobster thought his shell was a little too tight. Feeling very uncomfortable he crawled to his friend Gerry and started complaining about his discomfort.

Gerry looked at him, somewhat dispassionately and said “You know what needs to be done.” And Gerry walked away.

Alone in his misery, Larry continued to moan – the pain of living was becoming too much. But, the fear of doing what he needed to be done was overwhelming. What was a poor lobster to do? You see, the shell of a lobster is hard and inelastic. It has to shed its shell to grow. Ecdysis, commonly called shedding, occurs when a lobster extrudes itself from its old shell. At that point, it is vulnerable.

So, given the choice of living his life in pain and dying, or shedding his shell, Larry chose to find a “hidey-hole” so that he could grow.

Times of stress are opportunities for growth. Through adversity we can tap our previously unknown reserves. During this time of great introspection, I’m asking myself, what shells do I need to shed? And, what do I need to risk in order to grow?

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