Crabs in a Bucket

What happens when you put a crab in a bucket?

Naturally, it tries to get out as soon as it can, and often times it will succeed!

Now, what happens when you put two crabs in a bucket?

Both of them will try to get to the top of the bucket and escape as soon as they can, but because they're both trying to reach for the top at the same time, they end up pulling each other down and neither of them gets there. Can you see where this is going?

We are the crabs! Each of us is trying to get to the "top of the bucket", and sometimes we're the ones pulling others down.

Getting to the top of the bucket means taking the next step in your personal pursuit of success, often doing something you've never done before. It can mean trying a new hobby, improving a part of your personality, moving jobs, starting a new business, putting your ideas out there on the internet for everyone to see, anything!

If you've been in the same bucket with the same crabs for a long time, it can make it a little harder to make the effort to climb. Here's an example to illustrate:

You've never really been one to do anything out of the ordinary, but you've always wanted to do a triathlon. You're not in the best shape ever, but you know it's something that you've always wanted to do. The next time you're with your group of friends, you tell them about your plans for completing a triathlon. What's their reaction? They all look at each other, chuckle, and say "Wait, you're serious? You've never done anything like that! It's way too hard and it's not going to be worth it. Triathlons are only for the crazies." You laugh along with them and they change the topic, but inside you're thinking "Dang, they're right. It was a stupid idea, I'll just stick to what I'm comfortable with." The excitement and ambition is gone and your idea never leaves the ground.

Now, if your friends we're any kind of decent, they wouldn't shut down your idea that fast (at least I hope not). Here's the interesting thing: this dailogue can happen verbally and non-verbally. What do I mean by that?

I mean that often times we think of what others might say or might do if they see us try to make a step forward in our personal journeys, and we do it to a point that we think ourselves out of even trying.

Now if your friends are real friends and your family cares about you, your worst fear of them pulling you down will never be realized.

But what happens when people are actively pulling you down? Let's ask Michael Jordan:

"They told me I couldn't. That's why I did."

See, the path to personal progress is always going to be uphill. People naturally want to preserve their ego, so if they see someone progress, some of them will think: "If they're succeeding, I'm failing. Therefore I must ensure they don't succeed." Jeffery R. Holland once said:

“If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

If you're feeling the resistance to take the next step, whether it's all in your head or coming out of the hater's big mouths, it's probably a sign that you should go for it!

The great irony of all this is that if we help other people get out of the bucket, it becomes easier for us to get out of the bucket as well! Think about it: if each crab took turns getting out of the bucket, they would all escape (and we'd probably have a lot less crab at the seafood restaurant. Good thing I'm not a fan of crab)!

The greatest way to build yourself up is to help others build themselves up as well.

What's waiting for you at the top of the bucket?

How will you help others get to the top of theirs?