The fairy tale fails to tell the
rest of the story of the “three little pigs”.
As you may recall, the first
little pig built his house of straw, the second of wood and the
third of brick.
When the big bad wolf came to
visit, each house collapsed, save the one home built
brick-by-brick.
The first little pig wanted what
he wanted when he wanted it.
Immediate gratification was his
plan.
Gimme, gimme, gimme!
“Trick or treat, smell my feet,
gimme something good to eat...now!”
Once the threat of the big bad
wolf was gone, the first little pig quickly re-built his house of
straw.
He was in a hurry to get on with
his life.
For him, there was no time like
the present.
And not a single moment to lose.
He met a female pig, just like
himself, and they got married after a whirlwind courtship.
Shortly, thereafter, the big bad
wolf returned in the guise of day-to-day marital and life challenges
and stressors.
The first little pig and his wife
struggled a bit before calling it quits.
Their divorce was as certain as
their romance.
Sizzle followed by fizzle.
The second little pig also wanted
what he wanted when he wanted it, but he was more patient.
Moderate delay of gratification
was his plan.
Trick or treat, smell my feet,
give me something very good to eat...and I’ll just wait for a while
was his approach.
So when the big bad wolf
threatened him no more, the second little pig re-built his house of
wood in typical workmanlike fashion.
Not too fast and not too slow.
He met a female pig, just like
himself and they got married after dating an acceptable length of
time.
Then the big bad wolf returned in
the guise of day-to-day marital and life challenges and stressors.
The second little pig and his
wife struggled considerably but, instead of calling it quits, they
managed to go into an indefinite holding pattern and then hung on
for dear life.
The third little pig, like both
of his brothers, wanted what he wanted when he wanted it, but he
knew that some things take more time and effort than others.
Long-term delay of gratification
was an important value for him which he always lived.
He dreamed of building a grand
castle in the sky and knew in order to succeed he must start from
the ground up.
Brick-by-brick.
One brick at a time.
Start with a dream.
Concretize it.
Set specific goals.
Identify subgoals.
Specify criteria and measures to
let you know where you are in relation to where you want to be.
Ask often how you are doing.
