The Donkey in the Well Story is one of my favorite stories of overcoming adversity. It describes a concept that many of us go through in life… having to overcome adversity in our daily lives, careers, and businesses. So what is the Donkey in the Well Story?
One day, a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The donkey cried piteously for hours on hand, as the farmer and his neighbors tried to figure out what to do. After much deliberation, they decided that the animal was too old to save. It just wasn’t worth the effort to try and save the donkey. Plus, the well needed to be covered up anyways.
So the farmer invited all his neighbors to come over and help him out. They all grabbed a shovel and began shoveling dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. To everybody’s amazement, the donkey quieted down after awhile. The farmer and his neighbors had no idea why.
After a few shovel loads of dirt later, the farmer finally looked down the well. To his amazement, the donkey was still alive! In fact, with each shovel of dirt that hit the donkey’s back, the donkey did something amazing that shocked everybody. With each shovel of dirt, the donkey would immediately shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer and his neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the donkey, he would shake it off and take a step up. Eventually, to everyone’s amazement, the donkey stepped up and out of the well, happily trotting off.
Throughout our lives, life is going to shovel dirt onto us. The trick to surviving it and reaching our goals is to shake off the dirt, and take a step up. Each challenge that we face in life is a stepping stone in our lives. With each stepping stone, we continually grow and challenge ourselves to learn and be stronger. Regardless of how deep the well is in our lives, as long as we have the desire, determination, and willingness to see it through, we will be able to succeed. What are some of your favorites stories of overcoming adversity?
