One day, a farmer’s old donkey fell down into a deep, dry well. The animal cried miserably for hours while the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the donkey was old, the well was dry and dangerous, and it wasn’t worth the effort to rescue it. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him bury the donkey in the well and put an end to its misery.
They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey was terrified and cried out loudly. But after a few shovelfuls of dirt landed on his back, something changed. He realized what was happening — every time a shovel of dirt hit him, he shook it off and stepped up onto it.
He kept doing this: shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up. No matter how much dirt rained down on him, he refused to give up. With every shovel, he rose a little higher. It wasn’t long before the donkey, bruised and exhausted but still determined, stepped triumphantly over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Moral of the story:
Life is going to shovel all kinds of dirt on you — problems, disappointments, betrayals, criticism, failures. The trick is not to let it bury you.
Shake it off.
Step up.
Use every challenge as a stepping stone instead of letting it become your grave.
Keep shaking it off and stepping up — no matter how heavy the dirt feels today, each shake brings you closer to the top.
You’ve got this. What’s one “shovel of dirt” you’re going to shake off today? 💪
