I like to use analogies to illustrate my points in my teaching and product. Images from nature are so rich in message that the more I ponder upon them the more they motivate me. As I am thinking of an image to use in my Stress-Free Home Study Format the picture of bamboo came to mind.
Why bamboo? Well let's look at some of their qualities and then you tell me if you want to be like bamboo.
Bamboo is strong. It has a tensile strength that is superior to mild steel.
How strong is mild steel?
They can withstand up to 52,000 pounds of pressure psi.
Is that strong enough for you?
Bamboo has a weight-to-strength ratio that surpasses that of graphite.
That makes bamboo the strongest growing woody plant on earth
Now if you think that Bamboo is strong and hard, think again.
It is very flexible.
Seen "Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger"?
Because of the flexibility coupled with their strength, buildings made with bamboo have been known to withstand earthquakes measuring up to 9.0 on the Richter scale.
Bamboo is resilient, tenacious, never yielding and bounces back to life.
They survived the atomic bomb at Hiroshima in 1945.
And was the first plant to re-grow and re-green after the blast!
They did not bow to any bomb. When attacked they just bounced back to life!
Bomb or no bomb!
And when harvested Bamboo just continue to sprout new shoots!
They don't give in, they just grow back!
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on this planet.
Some species have been measured to grow over 4 feet in 24 hours!
Is that fast enough for you?
What's the lesson here?
We talk about changing economy and different external pressure facing us every day from every direction.
There is the finance, the job, the business, the health, the many concurrent projects and the list goes on.
And we feel stressed from every angle, pulled from many directions.
What's the point I am making?
We need to be strong to withstand external force and pressure,
And we need to be open to change and adapt.
We grow with changing times and bounce back into action when we falter.
Think of modelling after the bamboo.
Ground your roots, dig deep into your resources to withstand external pressures.
Bend with the tide, be willing to change and be transformed.
Go with the flow and grow,
and regenerate even if you have been knocked down or "harvested".
Just grow again, only this time greener, stronger, healthier, taller!
Those who are on my Enjoying Success Without The Stress Home Study Format,
will understand why I embrace this picture.
And it is my hope that you too will find the bamboo in you to ride out the storms of life.
Bamboo never says die, bamboo just flexes its muscles, bends and regenerates.
By the way, if you have not noticed, Bamboo is hollow.
Lots of spaces in the bamboo.
Those on my "Success without the Stress Home Study Format" will know exactly what I am talking about!
Viva la Bamboo!
Some facts are taken from the FRIM Site (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia as I was doing the research
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