“The trees that are slow to grow
bear the best fruit.”—Moliere
Bamboo is a
perennial plant of the tree family. Its stem consists of hollow sections which
are partially responsible for the jointed structure of the tree. It grows mostly
in tropical regions and is copious in southeastern Asia, where it has many uses
in the practical affairs of human life. Its numerous usages include construction
of houses, building of rafts, and the making of scaffolding. Last but not the
least benefit from the tree is that it’s grain serves as foodstuff and the young
shoots of the bamboo tree also serve as edible vegetable.
The foregoing clearly
shows the great value of this special tree to hundreds of million people in the
world. Generally, good things require time and patience to blossom, and that’s
why I have chosen this tropical tree as the focal point on the lessons of
growth and improvement. As useful as the bamboos are, and as remarkable as
their later growth are, the initial stage of growth is strangely slow compared
to many other trees in the world.
Let’s see
what I am talking about in greater detail:
This
amazing tree is different from most trees by how it grows. The bamboo tree
doesn’t break through the ground for the first four years. And the bamboo farmer
is quite patient because of his knowledge of the nature of the tree. When the
tree is planted deep down in the
ground, the farmer nurtures and waters it for many days. And he nurtures and waters the plant for many
more days, up to 365 days, even though; there is no outward sign of progress.
What’s more, he continues this for
more than 700 days and still, no visible sign of improvement. Still, he keeps
watering the tree for another 400 days and yet no noticeable signal of growth.
Any novice farmer would have quit because it all seems to be for nothing.
Then, surprisingly, after four solid years of
hard toil, the tree
finally grows up to 90 feet in the fifth year—in about just 60 days. Remarkable,
isn’t it?
The tree had been using four years to
prepare for those two months of incredible growth. And here in lies the
powerful lesson we want to take away today. That you shouldn’t grow weary
during your period of struggle by the absence of visible improvement. You may think
that nothing is happening, whereas, a lot is actually taking place, it is not
just visibly apparent to you at those moments. This is what the American poet, Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow meant when he said:
"Every
man must patiently bide his time. He must wait –not in listless idleness but in
constant, steady, cheerful endeavors, always willing and fulfilling and
accomplishing his task, that when the occasion comes he may be equal to the
occasion."
What We Can Learn and Apply from the Tree
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there
some day.”—A. A. Milne
On the
pursuit of our dreams, we shouldn’t allow haste and impatience to open the doors
of despair, especially when it seems like nothing is happening. We must keep
watering our plants and wait patiently for the results to come in its time.
The essential lesson here is about
working unremittingly with a reliable process and being less concerned about the
immediate perceptible results of your efforts but on the consistent performance
of your duty.
For example:
On Scholarship
As a student who aims to graduate with summa
cum laude. Don’t worry about ultimate outcome but COMMIT to the process of studying every
single day.
On Writing
As a writer who aims to write a
bestselling book. Don’t fret about the ultimate outcome but COMMIT to the process of writing each and
every day.
On Business
As a business owner whose goal is to
enlist on Forbes. Be less disturbed about the ultimate outcome
but COMMIT to the process of delighting
your customers every single day.
You see, the process of growth
that we learn from bamboo tree shows that remarkable improvement don't
just happen overnight, it is a product of cumulative effort that has been made over
a long period of time.
So, commit to the process of watering and
nurturing your plant each day, regardless of what people are saying and regardless
of what even you are seeing now. Continue your work; believing that if you put
in the work without cease, your own bamboo tree will eventually spring up to
amaze everyone in due course.
