It all started in the fourth grade. If your school was anything like mine, you had those class projects when you get a chance to care for a classroom pet. For us, the excitement boiled over when the teacher walked in with a small cage. We all huddled around and discovered the cutest, shy and furry rabbit on planet earth. We spent about an hour around the cage discussing a name and figuring out the schedule of who will get to take the class pet home. To this day, I don’t remember who was first or second, but at some point later in the school year, it was finally my turn. There were no words to describe my excitement as I collected the bunny supplies and prepared “Skippy” for his overnight adventure with my family.
Taking “Skippy” home was uneventful to say the least. I spent most of the night reading and re-reading the book I checked out of the school library entitled “Why Bunnies Hop”. In it, it outlined the basic types of rabbits, their eating habits and even a little about how quickly they reproduce. The information seemed to stick, because recently I was sharing the story with a collogue and we both laughed at the impossibility of a species of bunny that would take over the world. As we conversed, I wanted to brush up on my ‘rabbit trivia’ and after a short time on Google; I quickly understood exactly why rabbits will never take over the world.
I noticed a few things that spoke volumes to how I function as a business leader. Hopefully these tips about bunnies will also lend understanding to how you relate to others and vice versa.
Rabbits will never rule the world because they never hibernate: This sounds so simple. But if you understand your body, you will see the significance. Rest or hibernation is the body’s reset button. Without proper rest and sleep, we become lucid, frustrated and slow of judgement Have you ever tried to walk through a tough time when you were void of proper sleep? Your mind isn’t as sharp as it should be. In fact, you probably realized after looking back some areas you overlooked. Rabbits don’t hibernate, but every human needs a period of disconnection from everything to recharge.
Rabbits will never rule the world because they have a blind spot right in front of their noses: Did you know a rabbit has the ability to move their eyes and see behind them? This quality makes it difficult to sneak up behind them. This coupled with their sensitive ears are a powerful trait. The downside is rabbits have an inherent blind spot located directly in front of their nose. A rabbit cannot bring their eyes to focus on objects in clear view. In life, we tend to be more focused on what’s behind us than what’s in front of us. Your past can be a great point of reference but a poor place of residence.
Rabbits will never rule the world because they can be scared to death: It’s one thing to be timid, but it’s another thing to be scared out of your wit. Tony Robbins once said, “You can be unprepared, unorganized and scared out of your mind…but never let the audience know.” From time to time, we all approach new areas that put butterflies in our stomach. That is normal. What isn’t normal is living in a constant state of fear. Why? Fear paralyzes our efforts and defuses our abilities. When a rabbit’s system is shocked by fear, they can literally have a heart attack. Life will throw a lot at you, but as long as you can take another step of faith, you have overcome the powers of fear.
Today I have kids of my own and they come home with tons of school projects. Luckily we haven’t had to house any live animals yet. Every now and then I discover a plot to convince me to fund a pet. I am all for it, but the kids usually aren’t ready to step up and handle the responsibilities that go along with it. I share with them that life is always teaching us lessons, but we usually aren’t listening. Rabbits are cool, but have some issues we all could take a page from. The difference between us and them is we can address our deficiencies and eventually conquer them. We aren’t stuck in situations as a rabbit. We have the chance to rule the world!
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