The philosophy of ants and elephants

Have you ever felt how hard you work day and night to realize what you want, but it seems that fate actually leads you in the opposite direction? You have worked hard to realize your dreams, but it seems that you have instead been taken to another place, far from your dream? If YES, then your fate is the same as the fate of an ant that lives on the back of an elephant.

Just imagine, the ant is already tired of walking towards the east, if the elephant walks towards the west, then the same ant will go west, not east. I find this analogy in a small book that is very beautifully written by Vince Poscente, entitled "The Ant and the Elephant" which in the Indonesian edition translates to "Guide the Elephant". Vince Poscente is a former Olympic athlete, entrepreneur and business strategist.

This book written in the form of fables (stories about animals) tells about the journey of Adir the ant, and Elgo the Elephant. Adir is a small ant with great ideals. After the storm crashed and separated from the colony. Adir found his purpose in life, namely Oase. Why Oase? Because for Adir Life must be a meaningful journey, not just a struggle for survival. For Adir, Oase is what will make his life meaningful. However, at first Adir did not realize that he lived on Elgo's back, so wherever he went, it would be futile if Elgo was not heading in the same direction as Adir's goal. Luckily Adir met Brio, the intelligent owl who made Adir aware that his success in achieving Oase would depend on his ability to communicate and guide Elgo, guiding the Elephant.

Adir and Elgo in this story are a symbol of our conscious mind and subconscious mind. The power of our conscious mind, compared to the power of our subconscious mind, is like ants with elephants. This is not an absurd analogy. Vince cites Dr. Lee Pulos revealed that in every second, our conscious mind uses 2000 neurons, and the subconscious mind uses 4 billion neurons. Imagine, conscious decisions are produced by only 2000 neurons, while decisions made by the subconscious mind use 4 billion neurons. So it's clear who controls who. Elephants are the ones who bring where ants go, not vice versa.

So, if all this time your intelligent "ant" may have formulated your life vision clearly, has designed a business strategy in detail, and has taken bold steps, such as resigning from work, to borrowing all-in-law money, but how come business You seem to be far from the vision that you wished for, maybe here the answer. Maybe you haven't talked to your "Elephant". Yes, do not be surprised, if you have taken action to the north, how come instead of heading south, maybe your elephant is carrying it there. Then how to guide our elephant?

The keyword is emotion. In the story of Adir and Elgo it is told that Elgo can only hear Adir only through emotion. A strong emotion about Oasis, which Elgo can capture and make him begin to move towards Oasis. Some time ago I read the story of a little child who was able to run several tens of kilometers, at night, alone, in search of help for his father who could not move in their car that had an accident. If the child is asked to do the same thing again, it may not be able to. Never mind small children, even adults may not be able to. But a very strong emotion to save the life of the father, has moved his "elephant" which is extraordinarily strong.

Similarly, successful business people. Generally they have very strong emotions to realize what they aspire to. They have a "burning desire" that can move the Elephant. Maybe you need to reflect on what you want to realize, and this time feel your emotions. Are there emotions exploding there? Have your tears suddenly melted to imagine the happiness and abundance that you will experience with your wife and child? If YES, congratulations! It's likely that your elephants will begin to hear, and are ready to step into your oasis. Welcome your elephants, and see you at Oasis !.