Ant Or Elephant?

Have you ever wondered what motivates a person to sleep their life away? As a young man I couldn't wait for the weekend so I could sleep in. I loved holidays they equated to extra sleeping time. Truth be told, I'm just about certain it was all caused by boredom. Had you told me I was going to do something exciting on that next morning, I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep a wink. So really I wasn't in need of sleep, I was simply bored and sleep was a coping mechanism to pass the time away.

This is a perfect contrast of the ant and the elephant concept. When I was bored and wanting to laze my day away in bed, the ant side of my brain had control. My field of vision for the future was limited like the ability of an ant to see any distance because of his height limitations. All I could imagine was how wonderful it would be to enhance my idleness with sleep. It's also a defense mechanism to combat the rut of having the same routine day after day of going to work, doing my job, going home, and then sleeping. The highlight of that sentence in that scenario was the sleep portion! No wonder it was my goal!

Now in contrast, when your imagination is running rampant, sleep is the last thing you wish to do. This is the elephant side of your brain at work. Your imagination is sparked to foresee the wonderful events that lie in your future, the vision that is available to one who has the height of an elephant as opposed to the height of an ant. For me it was opening day of hunting season, going on a trip, deep sea fishing with my grandfather, or leaving on vacation. Those all fired my imagination to dream of all the wonderful outcomes that lie ahead for me. What wakes your sleeping elephant?

When you find an individual that holds sleep above all else, you've found a bored human being. Their ant has overruled their elephant. It's your job as a friend to inspire that person to dream again! They need to recall what fired their elephant, be it a vacation, an event that's about to take place, or a visit from a loved one. There is something that gives their life purpose. Help them find it once again!

God Bless!
Capt. Bill