“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” ~ Chinese proverb……Read more

When you think about that quote, do you enjoy the idea of its meaning, deciding it to be true and interesting, or do you go a step further and actually put the idea in place in your own life? Think about that…what about those other aspects of your life; how are they doing? Are they working?

To dive a little deeper, how does that quote inspire you when thinking about raising your children? Does the idea begin to take light when thinking about how you might be micro-managing someone at work or at home? Are we helping or hurting, based on what we do with each situation?

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You can probably come up with at least a few ideas, whether past or present, where you took care of something, at home or work, because you decided that it would just be easier, and done right, if you did it yourself, rather than teaching them how. That’s especially true when speaking about the heart. No one wants to see a child struggle because they can’t afford what they want or need; and that workload you’ve been tending to for so long; now, that’s your baby. How could anyone possibly do as good a job as you are on the project?

When we make a decision to take care of it ourselves, we lose on so many levels.

For one, we are overworked, because we take care of everything. Since we have the mindset that it’s easier or better to handle the mission, instead of sharing the load, we miss the greater point. We miss out on a very important opportunity; the chance to show someone how to become a better person. If we do for them, they don’t learn to do for themselves. What a disappointment for them, not you. You know how, but they don’t. What will that get them the next time you’re not around?

The next time you decide to fix something for your child, handle a task for your willing coworker who only wants to get ahead, or do the work assigned to someone else, you just missed your opportunity to shine. Sure, it made their life easier for the moment, but did you miss the lesson? Chances are you did.

When you’re not around, you’re child won’t be able to fend for themselves; and that coworker, well, they didn’t receive the promotion because they never learned the skills necessary. Decide if you want to be the anchor or the oar in someone’s life.

Happy fishing!

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