I am sure you’ve come across the fable of the porcupine before.
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the extreme cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.
After a while, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice. Either accept the quills of their companions or die. Wisely, they decided to get back to being together.
The moral of the story is very much applicable to personal as well as professional life. Every individual is unique and different with lots of positive and negative energies. Whether in family, at work place or in society, learning to live with others with acceptance is the key to success and happiness. Learning to endure the little wounds caused by the close relationship with others in order to receive the warmth and heat that comes along with it is fundamental. This way we are able to survive.
When I introspect into my personal and entrepreneurial life so far, I see that the fable corroborates the experiences and feelings I have lived through. At every new step or decision I had to take, I was destined to undergo certain uncertainty, fear, prickles, loneliness, pain, confusion and so much more. But then, when I accepted the proximity and assistance of others the result was success, contentment, warmth, focus, love, respect and more…
The best relationship or the best group is not the one that comprises perfect people, but a unity of individuals who have the readiness to live and work together, accepting the imperfections as well as appreciating the goodness in them. Be it in family or office, we come across people and situations, which, at first instance, might seem to be prickly. However, time often proves it that those pricks are priceless for survival and success.
This is not just a relationship or management theory, rather a natural law. We live on this planet as cohabiters along with all the rest and share its natural resources. Pricks and pain are part and parcel of this multifaceted union. So long as we choose to stand alone and live selfishly, it will only lead to our doom. We are required to live in consonance with fellow human beings and nature, and not at the expense of each other or the environment.
Yes, it’s better to be surrounded by warm pricks than be frozen in solitude!!!!!
