A story to reflect on the importance of tenacity and perseverance.
What happens is that during the first 6 years, the bamboo develops and strengthens its roots, which are not seen, but which are fundamental to allow it to grow in only six weeks and support itself when it is very tall.
As Gregorio Marañón said “speed, which is a virtue, engenders a vice, which is haste”. It is difficult not to be in a hurry in today’s times, when we can have everything we want at our fingertips at the click of a button. Or well, almost everything.
There are no “magic formulas” for everything (or almost everything) and not enough clicks. And achieving “success” is one of those concerns that we all share and for which we do not always have a clear path, nor its duration, and even less its counterpart. Success, understood as “Result, especially a happy one, of an enterprise or action undertaken, or of an event” according to the RAE, has generated (and still does) so much literature, courses, experiences, gurus and so many other “manuals”, that it is not difficult for us to get lost in such a vast ocean of information.
In this article we want to reflect with you about the achievement of success, the rush and anxieties that it generates. And the story of Japanese bamboo is a good fit for this purpose. A story that reminds us that, while nothing seems to be happening, what is really important to achieve remarkable results is actually happening.
In case you do not know what happens in the growth of this type of bamboo, you should know that, during the first 6 years since its seed is planted, there is hardly any sign on the surface of the soil that makes us think that it is going to become a tall and majestic plant. It is during the seventh year of its growth, and only in a period of 6 weeks, that the Japanese bamboo develops and grows up to 25m in height.
What happens is that during the first 6 years, the bamboo develops and strengthens its roots, which are not seen, but which are fundamental to allow it to grow at a dizzying pace in just six weeks and to hold firm when it reaches great height.
In reality, this is a story that contains several lessons. On the one hand, not everything is as it seems. It may give the impression that the bamboo does not grow during the first years, but it does, in the part that holds it to the soil, which is fundamental to allow it to grow fast and strong, and to maintain its height afterwards.
But it also makes us reflect on the values of patience and perseverance. Patience, the ability to have the tranquility to wait, and perseverance, firmness and constancy in the way of being and acting.
Both are essential values to apply in the care of the “seed” of everything we do. Because only daily care and dedication will make our “roots” develop and allow us to grow strong and tall. In a nutshell:
If you are not achieving what you are applying yourself to, don’t give up, maybe you are still developing your roots.
