Monday, March 19, 2012

One Ant Can’t Do That



by Jillian Maas Backman

I bet if each one of us deliberately took a giant step back from our daily grind and examine the overall success of our journey so far, the majority would be pleasantly surprised. By doing this simple exercise, one may discover a life sprinkled with more subtle “victories” than ever imagined.

Somewhere in our distorted perceptions of what we think we should act like, be like or achieve like, we have lost sight of our subtle accomplishments. Insignificant daily “wins” we automatically carry out without thought and very little fan fare. Like taking our kids to school on time or picking up an extra task at work to assist a co-worker meet a deadline. Menial duties that seem to the outside world as trivial, but necessary to grow and spark quiet self- talk when no one is around. Synchronized internal homework designed to keep one in a state of constant change and build personal character, motivation, courage and discipline which leads to self-esteem, self image….fill in the blank…..self…….? Subtle victorious changes that hold the potential to produce a big “WOW” in the end.

To demonstrate how subtle self-work leads to grand results, I turn to my pets I had as a child, ants. That’s right, ants. Many of you may remember the small see-through double pane window constructed ant farms made of plastic that stood upright. Mine held a prominent place next to the jewelry box on my pink and white dresser. Filled with fine granular sand and live ants in a vial delivered through regular mail, I would watch as dozens feverously constructed their colony for days on end. At times, a singular ant would break away from the pack and build a personal tunnel and nesting hole for themselves. I can remember thinking to myself one ant can’t do that. How could one little insect move that much sand one grain at a time and survive. One rogue ant digging an entire new crawlspace, adding to their ever- changing colony of pass-throughs. A job that should have taken weeks to finish would take instead hours of intense goal driven labor. Labor that always yielded a spectacular result every time, the WOW the little ant was toiling for, a new home. What could make an ant do that? A fascinating feat to behold at any age.

Like my pet ants, each one of us has to see our quiet accomplishments as big victories. Celebrations of change and trust there are pristine untouched landscape waiting to blaze a subtle path leading to the big WOW at the end.

My big WOW right now is the return to radio in a program entitled Change Already, Your Future, Your Choice. A bi-weekly interactive program designed to help each one of us change, grow and find the big WOW in the end. I share my intuitive spin on social, spiritual, and cultural reality through array of personal and universal topics important to all of us for several weeks in a row. To enhance the program I incorporate well-known expert interviews and original systematic e-lessons to double the success. All this from the comfort of your own home!

Before you jump to conclusions and assume you are one of those people that believe life is filled with more losses than victories, take a giant step back with me and claim your subtle accomplishments. You too may be pleasantly surprised to find your big WOW is waiting just around the corner.

I invite each one of you to join in on the series Power in the Quiet Moments on Change Already!, every Tuesday and Thursday, high noon (CST) when we discuss life’s grand subtleness and the lessons learned from these silent influential push forward.

In subtle celebration,


Jillian Maas Backman, Author, Beyond The Pews, Breaking With Traditions and Letting Go Religious Lockdown and host of the radio show, CHANGE ALREADY!  www.jillianmaasbackman.com 



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