THE ANT AND THE CHRYSALIS

Many of you may have read the Aesop Fable “The Ant and The Chrysalis”, which I reproduced below.

// An Ant, nimbly running about in the sunshine in search of food, came across a Chrysalis near its time of change. The Chrysalis moved its tail, and thus attracted the attention of the Ant, who then saw for the first time that it was alive.

“Poor, pitiable animal!” cried the Ant disdainfully. “What a sad fate is yours! While I can run hither and thither, at my pleasure, and, if I wish, ascend the tallest tree, you lie imprisoned here in your shell, with power only to move a joint or two of your scaly tail.”

The Chrysalis heard all this, but did not try to make any reply. A few days later, when the Ant passed that way again, nothing but the shell remained. Wondering what had become of its contents, he felt himself suddenly shaded and fanned by the gorgeous wings of a beautiful Butterfly.

“Behold in me,” said the Butterfly, “your much-pitied friend! Boast
now of your powers to run and climb as long as you can get me to
listen.”

So saying, the Butterfly rose in the air, and, borne along and aloft on the summer breeze, was soon lost to the sight of the Ant forever.”//

Of course, the most obvious learning from this fable is “not to be judgemental of others”, as you may not know everything about the person or the situation. But there may be deeper learning from this fable.

Nature has not made us all equal. Nature has not equipped an Ant to evolve physically. It will continue to do the same thing its entire life (no skill improvement), while nature has equipped a Chrysalis to evolve physically into a beautiful butterfly with new skills (flying). But most importantly, nature has blessed us, humans, to have the ability to evolve both physically and mentally. We humans have been endowed with limitless ability to evolve.

Below is my representation of the potential “professional impact” that you can make in your career. You can choose not to evolve after acquiring your initial domain expertise (or evolve marginally) and remain on the “Ant Curve” during your career, working tirelessly like an Ant, but basically doing the same things again and again.

Or, you can acquire a few more domain expertise during your career and evolve along the “Butterfly Curve”, and have a decent enough career.

OR, you can evolve even further by acquiring leadership skills (in addition to the domain expertise) and get on to the “Winner Curve”, whereby you can not only have a great, fulfilling career, but also have the opportunity to positively impact the lives and careers of many around you.

So, which curve are you going to be on? The choice is yours.