November 30, 2022 –
Remember, in “The Three Little Pigs,” a mother pig told her three little pigs it was time for them to live on their own. She gave parting advice, “Whatever you do, do the best you can.”
Upon setting out from their mother’s home, each pig builds a house. The first little pig builds a straw house, but a wolf blows down that house and eats the pig. Next, the second little pig builds a house of sticks, but the same wolf blows it down and eats the pig. The third pig builds a sturdy house of quality bricks, so when the wolf comes to the door, he can’t blow the house down.
The wolf becomes infuriated by this and instead climbs into the pig’s chimney to get inside. As the wolf jumps into the chimney, the third pig opens the lid of his cooking cauldron. The wolf falls into the pot and dies, and the pig has him for dinner.
The story of the pigs in their different houses, and the wolf at their doors, has many learning moments.
- The pigs received sound advice from a trusted source.
- The advice was, “Be your best.” The three pigs were not to seek perfection, only to do their best. We must stop pretending we must be perfect and cut ourselves some slack.
- The first two pigs didn’t devise a sound building plan. They quickly built their houses from substandard materials and went off to play. Poor decisions have poor results, and good decisions deliver good results.
- The third little pig thought about his home-building challenge, devised a plan, and used quality materials to build with.
The world has done an excellent job of concealing that there are two types of pigs. One kind is lazy, cannot listen to good counsel, and avoids hard work. The other kind seeks good advice, makes wise decisions, and plans, and works hard.