When you sta
rt to make positive changes in your life, it is not easy. You want results right away. When you don’t, you easily want to give up.
We all need to be reminded that outward progress doesn’t necessarily reflect or measure inward progress
Let me tell you of the story of the Chinese bamboo tree. You take a little seed, plant it, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and nothing happens.
The second year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens.
The third year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens. (How discouraging this becomes!)
The fifth year you continue to water and fertilize the seed and then—take note. Sometime during the fifth year, the Chinese bamboo tree sprouts and grows NINETY FEET IN SIX WEEKS!
Did the little tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond? The answer is, of course, obvious. Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew.
Life is much akin to the growing process of the Chinese bamboo tree.
It is often discouraging. We seemingly do things right, and nothing happens. But for those who do things right and are not discouraged, things will happen.
It might take years, but if you are persistent enough, you might have “overnight success” that others will see. But in your heart, you know the results came from doing the right things over a long period of time.
The situation you are in right now is the result of the seeds that you planted 5 years ago. Are you getting the results you want? If not, begin today to sow the seeds of what you want 5 years from now.
Remember, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get the results you’ve always gotten.