Ha ha! That got your attention!
But on a serious note, I bet you do have crabs. Don’t book yourself into a clinic just yet though, bear with me a second…
Imagine this for a minute. You’re holidaying in the Caribbean. The world seems to be wrapped in a rich, azure bubble. Your factor 50 sunscreen is fighting like a Gladiator against the tropical heat bouncing off your sizzling British skin.
With all your worries and cares 6000 miles away, you glide weightless along the cobbled stones of an old fishing town. Perched at the water’s edge, a fisherman dangles a wooden cage from a piece of old rope into the water. Beside him sits a bucket, crammed almost to bursting with crabs.
“Funny”, you think, “That bucket has no lid. Why don’t the crabs just climb out and make a bid for freedom?”
Puzzled, you kneel down beside the fisherman and pose that very question.
“It’s simple”, replies the fisherman. “If they work together, the crabs could easily climb out of the bucket.”
“But I don’t need to worry. Crabs are selfish. If one tries to escape the bucket, the others just pull him back down.”
So what’s this got to do with you? Picture this one:
You’re at work. It’s Jayden from sales’s youngest daughter’s 2nd birthday. To celebrate, she’s brought in a nice big box of cupcakes with butter-cream icing and those little hundreds and thousands on top.
“It’s my daughter Babycham’s birthday. She’s 2. I brought in cupcakes. Here, have one.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m currently working towards getting back into my wedding dress. I was a really good weight then. Really happy with how I looked. I’ve set myself the goal of getti…”
“But you can have one. One won’t hurt.”
“Seriously, that’s very kind of you, but right now I have other priorities. Please do wish your daughter a happy Birthday from me though, and…”
At which point you’re cut off again by Jayden practically forcing this thing down your throat, until they eventually give up, but not before making it perfectly clear how offended they are that you didn’t eat their buttery, sugar laden fat magnet in honour of some kid you’ve never met making it 730 days into their outside existence.
And that’s only one scenario! People I’ve worked with have told me how their spouses have sent them out for takeaway, colleagues and friends have even bought you junk food and drinks when they’re fully clued up on the situation and your current goals and intentions.
“One drink won’t hurt”
“One crisp won’t hurt”
“One chocolate won’t hurt”
“One chip won’t hurt”
Well you know what? It will hurt. It’ll hurt you when I falcon punch your nuts so hard the surgeons will mistake them for your tonsils if you don’t get your crap out of my face while I’m trying to better myself here!
(Too harsh? Maybe…)
It’s like the fisherman said. It’s simple.
When you set high goals for yourself. When you show dedication, conviction, courage, and determination on a daily basis. When you constantly strive to move one step closer to your goal of bettering yourself, you shine a massive spotlight on everyone around you.
Even though you’re not trying to, from their perspective, you’re making them look bad, and they take it personally.
It’s a universal law that it’s much, much easier for someone to try to drag someone down to their level than it is to come up to yours.
Like the crab.
If one tries to climb out, the others will pull that bad boy back down into the grimy depths of the bucket.
Humans are no different.
So look around you. Do you have crabs in your life? Might be time to do some trimming!
Have you had any recent run-ins with someone trying to hold you back? Tell me about it in the comments.