Your struggle is guaranteed

The wise man, the boy and the butterfly

There is a story about a wise man who was speaking with a young boy about life. While they were speaking, a cocoon that the wise man had in his possession caught the boy’s eye. Noticing the boy’s gaze, the wise man asked the boy if he wanted to have his cocoon. Wide eyed, the boy nodded and said yes. The wise man agreed to give it to the boy to care for. But, the gift came with a warning.

The wise man explained to the boy that the cocoon holds a caterpillar. But, in several days it will emerge as a butterfly. As he gave the boy the cocoon, he explained that the boy is not to help the butterfly as it escapes its cocoon. The boy agreed, took the cocoon and waited for days in expectation. Finally, the day came and the butterfly started to break through the cocoon. As the boy watched the butterfly struggle, he felt sorry for it and forgot the words of the wise man. He helped the butterfly break free.

A few days later, he returned to the wise man with the butterfly and was full of despair. The wise man saw that the butterfly had small and shriveled wings, a fat body and no ability to fly. He immediately knew the boy had helped the butterfly break out of its cocoon. Upon questioning, the boy confessed and felt ashamed. The wise man explained that the butterfly struggles for a reason. As it is breaking out of its cocoon, its wings grow strong from all the exertion. Additionally, the liquid in its body that has kept it alive gets drained. Its struggle is necessary for it to shed its identity as a caterpillar and transform into a butterfly. Now, it will never fly and live the rest of its life as it is.

Embrace your struggle

We all have struggles in life. They are often so overwhelming that we don’t think we will ever overcome them. All of us have these “breaking out of the cocoon” moments. You may be struggling in your job, your relationship, your health. Regardless of what your struggles are at this moment, know that you will gain strength as you overcome them. It’s important to realize that the struggles in life are guaranteed to occur. You can’t avoid them. But, you can focus on the process of getting through them and come out the other side with your own metamorphosis. The process of overcoming struggle gives you strength. Gaining strength gives you the ability to overcome bigger struggles. Overcoming bigger struggles leads to more success.

Remember the story of the wise man, the boy and the butterfly next time you are in the middle of a struggle. Ask yourself who you want to become as you come out the other side. You might not enjoy the process, but if you allow yourself to go through it, you will come out the other side better than you went in.