An ant’s life

Kunjan Vaishnav has 13 years of experience with teaching pre-primary students. She loves to spend time with children. Her enthusiasm is contagious…walk by her classroom and you’ll see Kunjan and her students deeply engrossed in activities.

I have been a primary school teacher for the last 13 years and I have been very happy. Working with kids, of course, brings you joy but it is also the most stressful job there is. This is perhaps why even my colleagues are amazed at the relatively stress-free life I seem to be living. A friend came to me the other day and told me, “I am tense. I don’t know how to organize my life. I feel like I am leading an imbalanced life.” I said, “You lead a busy life and it was your choice to be in this profession. Therefore, learn to relax and find the right work-life balance.”

My friend asked, ”But how? What should I do?” And I told her, “Observe an ant and learn to organize your life. Ants have to overcome difficult hurdles to carry on living.”

“An ant?” she asked.

Observe an ant carefully and there is a lot you can learn from this tiny creature.

  • Whatever obstacle you place in front of an ant, it is so persistent that it will find a way around the obstacle.
  • An ant will never quit and it stays focused on its goals. When it is summer, it plans for winter. It plans ahead.
  • When it is winter, it waits patiently for summer. Patience is a virtue all of us need to practice.
  • Ants always operate as a team. They work together to achieve their goal.
  • Ants have the humility to follow the leader. Humility is a strength not a weakness.
  • Ants, while moving in a line, have perfect coordination. They constantly communicate with each other.

“Can you organize and balance your life like an ant?” I asked my friend.

“Persistence, planning ahead, patience, commitment, teamwork, humility, networking ability, etc., are the lessons that we can learn from the ants. I always follow the “wisdom of the ants”. Maybe you should too.

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