A Fable of Growth: Becoming an Apple Tree That Always Grows
An apple tree finally bore fruit. In the first year, it produced 10 apples, 9 of which were taken away, leaving only 1 for itself. The apple tree was indignant and thus cut off its own lifeline, refusing to grow. In the second year, it bore 5 apples, 4 were taken, and it got 1 for itself. "Haha, last year I got 10%, this year I got 20%! Doubled!" The apple tree found psychological balance.
It could also do this: continue to grow. For example, in the second year, it bore 100 fruits, 90 were taken, and it got 10. Maybe 99 will be taken and it will get 1. But it doesn't matter; it can continue to grow, and in the third year, bear 1,000 fruits... Actually, how many fruits it gets is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the apple tree is growing! When the apple tree becomes a towering tree, the forces that once hindered its growth will become so weak they can be ignored. Really, don't care too much about the fruit; growth is the most important.
[Psychological Insight] Are you a worker who has already cut off your own lifeline? At the beginning of your career, you were talented and energetic, believing that "everyone has a talent that can be useful." But reality quickly hit you with a few hard knocks. Perhaps your major contributions at work went unnoticed; perhaps you received only verbal recognition but no practical benefit; perhaps... in short, you felt like that apple tree, getting only a tiny fraction of the fruits you expected. As a result, you were angry, frustrated, and full of complaints... Eventually, you decided to no longer work so hard, letting your effort match only what you gained. After a few years, upon reflection, you realize that you no longer have the talent you did when you first started working. "I'm old, matured." We tend to self-deprecate this way. But in reality, you have stopped growing. Such stories are everywhere around us.So, you get angry, you feel frustrated, you are full of complaints... In the end, you decide not to work as hard, letting what you do match what you get. The reason for making this mistake is that we forget that life is a journey, a whole; we feel that we have already grown, and now it is time to reap the results. We care too much about temporary gains and losses and forget that growth is the most important. Fortunately, this is not like the novels of Jin Yong where one severs their meridians. We can always choose to stop doing this and continue on the path of growth. Remember: if you are a worker and encounter a boss or corporate culture that is unable to manage, manages brutally, or mismanages, remind yourself that you must not, in a fit of anger and full of complaints, sever your meridians. No matter what happens, always be an apple tree that keeps growing, because your growth is always more important than how much money you make each month.
