Lessons from a Lobster

I recently came across the following article:

Excerpts from “Lessons from a Lobster” - Author unknown



For a moment, try to picture a tank of lobsters in your local food market or favorite restaurant. In one corner there is a small one pound lobster. In the middle there is large six pound lobster slowly making his way across the tank. But how did he do it? How did he grow that large? Each time the crustacean felt cramped, restricted or trapped in his shell, he shed it. He left the safety of the armor that protected him from his environment and his natural enemies. For the next 6 weeks, the lobster had to face his world totally vulnerable to the underwater currents that could bash him against the rocks and to other fish that might make him their next meal. During this time he slowly grew a hard shell that provided ample room to grow. During the first year of his life, he would repeat that process six or seven times. In later years, he would face the ordeal twice every year. It is the price he must pay to live and grow.

There is an important lesson that all of us can learn from this phenomenon. In the course of our lives, many of us paint ourselves into tight corners. We construct vocational and behavioral paths that we pursue for years only to eventually find ourselves feeling stifled, burned out and trapped situationally, financially and even emotionally. Some of us discover that the career path we chose so many years ago no longer maintains its enchantment or we realize the marketplace that once provided us a living has radically changed. But even with that reality staring us in the face, we can feel paralyzed to affect a change. In some cases, the city or state in which we once wanted to live no longer seems safe or enjoyable. But we are too fearful to make a move. Even worse, our marriages, our lifestyles and the emotional patterns we have carved out over the years may now seem restrictive, cramped and painful. The solutions so often chosen: tolerate it, make the best of bad situation; get drunk or drugged; overeat; stay depressed; blame others; leave; run away; throw in the towel; give up; self-destruct or learn some lessons from a lobster.

This is something to think about when you feel like you are stuck in a position with no room for advancement. Sometimes, you just have to break out of that protective shell to be able to grow. Change is hard and there is a lot of anxiety involved but sometimes it takes a new environment (shell) to help us realize our true potential.