The other day I was outside and I noticed a bunch of ants gathered around something on the sidewalk. I bent down to inspect the insects and realized that the ants were going to town on a dead grasshopper. It was an image you might see on Nat Geo (for those of you who are younger than 20) or in National Geographic Magazine (for those of you who are older than 40).
I stared at nature at work and got to thinking about how remarkable these tiny ants were. How are they able to accomplish so much despite being so small?
Let’s find out in today’s installment of Five Things We Can Learn From Everyday Objects.
Five Things We Can Learn From Ants
1. You Are Stronger Than You Look
We have all heard the stat about how ants can lift X times their body weight. I knew they were strong but I can never remember the exact stat so I decided to look it up. Would you believe that ants can support 5,000 times their body weight?? It is true, according to this article.
As I write this, I am watching a Golden State Warriors game. Steph Curry may look like a child, but he is one of the fiercest competitors in the league. We may not be able to support 5,000 times our weight, but we can all be stronger than we look.
2. It Helps to Have Help
I don’t care that an ant can support 5,000 times its body weight, I would take a grasshopper in a fight against one ant. I am guessing the ants prevailed because they either found the grasshopper wounded, or they attacked in bunches.
We often try to take on the world by ourselves. But that never quite goes as seamlessly as Hollywood might lead us to believe. Chasing our dreams will require help. And that is not a bad thing. I guess the title of this section (It Helps to Have Help) is redundant, but I like the way it sounds. We can all use a reminder that asking for help is okay.
3. There is Enough To Go Around
I am no ant expert, but I am guessing they are quite generous. You always see ants bringing food back to the colony. Ants must be familiar with the motto, “Sharing is caring.” The ants I saw weren’t worried about keeping the grasshopper to themselves. They knew there was enough grasshopper for everyone.
It is cool to ask for help, and it is even cooler to offer help. Whether it is your time, your skill or your knowledge, you have enough to go around. Don’t just keep it to yourself. Be willing to share.
4. Be Organized
A marvel of organization is the line that ants travel to and from their anthill. Dozens of ants travel in the same straight-line path yet managed to avoid one another, even when carrying dinner above their head. How do they do it? Sounds like a good question for Wonder Why Wednesday, but I am guessing it takes planning, direction and good GPS.
When we are hustling for our dreams, we very rarely follow a straight-line path. It is more like the video game snake, were we are just trying to avoid bumping into ourselves, let alone others. Organizing each day can help us avoid these crashes. I recently read about one thing that make millionaires do well. The article didn’t mention anything about GPS but it says that planning and direction make a huge difference.
5. You Gotta Go Out and Find it
The chances of a cookie landing inches from an anthill are slim. Ants seem to be fully aware of that and cool with it. They are comfortable scouring areas far away from home to find their next meal. They aren’t afraid to go out and find anything they need.
I don’t know about you, but I am often scared to travel far away from home. Literally and figuratively. I am more comfortable when I am familiar with my surroundings. Sometimes I feel like I am waiting for that cookie to land inches from my house. But if that is the case, I will always be waiting. In order to achieve our goals we need to be willing to scour the areas that are far away.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
