Containers

pumpkin

The Winners Circle often give me food-for-thought; and this post is no exception. In this one, Lou Tice talks about the things that can stop us growing, the container that we hold our lives in.

I have a question for you today. How big is your container? You do have one, you know.

Years ago, a farmer brought an amazing pumpkin to a county fair. It was big and orange, in every aspect a perfect pumpkin. But it was the exact size and shape of a two-gallon jug. After it had won a blue ribbon, someone asked the farmer how in the world he had managed to produce such a wonder. He chuckled a bit and said, “Shucks! Wasn’t anything to it! Soon as the blossom started to grow, I just stuck it inside a cider jar and the pumpkin took care of the rest.” If you think I’m kidding, just check out the square watermelons available later this summer!

Just like that pumpkin, the shape of your life is determined by the size and shape of the container in which you hold it. That container is made up of your beliefs about what is possible, your expectations of what will happen, and — most of all — your thoughts about yourself and the world you live in.

Many of your beliefs about what is possible for you were put there by someone else when you were just starting to blossom. But what would your life look like if you were able to let yourself grow without the limits of other people’s ideas about you? Children are often forced to shrink to fit the size of their containers by adults who don’t know any better. The good news is that, unlike our two-gallon pumpkin, once we are grown we still have the choice to be different.

So, look at your beliefs — where they came from and how they limit you. Then, make some choices for yourself based on how big you’d like your mind and spirit to grow.

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute

I think most, though not all, of my containers are health related — physical and mental. The big question is, can those health related containers be grown out of? Or will they always hold me in? I don’t know the answer to that just yet, but I’m working on it. And perhaps I do just need to make the choice; make the choice to be different. Sadly, making that choice won’t make the health issues go away; but maybe I can choose to not let them dominate me. Mmmm, we shall see.

I find Lou Tice’s thought provoking emails are very helpful. If you think you would too, do, please, consider subscribing to the Winners Circle.