Activity and Accomplishment

There is a big difference between activity and accomplishment. This was demonstrated by a French scientist named Fable.

He conducted an experiment with processionary caterpillars. Caterpillars follow the one in front of them blindly. Fable arranged them in a circle in a flowerpot so that the lead caterpillar actually was behind the last one forming a circle. He put pine needles (food for the caterpillars) in the center of the flowerpot.

The caterpillars kept going in a circle in the pot. Eventually, after a week of circling around, they dropped dead of exhaustion and starvation with food only inches away from them.

We need to learn a lesson from the caterpillars. Just because you are doing something, doesn't mean you are getting anywhere. One must evaluate one's activity in order to have accomplishment.

A man was out driving with his wife and the wife said, "Honey, we are going the wrong way." The husband replied, "Who cares, we are making great time!"

If we confuse activity with accomplishment, we could be making great time but we won't get anywhere.