The CAT who JUMPS to a HOT stove

I've read a story of a cat who jumped to a hot stove, the cat got hurt and since then the cat never jumped to any hot stove again. But you know what, the cat won't jump to any cold stove either. Sa Bisaya pa, "natagam ang iring".

I heard stories like this happen in real life: a person gets disappointed with another person and that person would never take a step near that person. I believe that's where the quote, "ni anino nya any ayaw kunang makita!" came from.

I see this story come alive in my friends lives and before, in my life. I used to get easily disappointed and the normal stimulus to disappointments is to withdraw from whatever it is that causes pain. If we happen to touch a hot stove we quickly (without thinking) take away our hands off the hot stove. In the same way, I "withdraw" myself to pain. Or should I say I withdraw myself to things that I perceived as the one causing pain. Until I realized that doing that hinders me from growing and maturing as a person. Instead of using pain as a tool for growth, I began to make wrong associations to pain. And this caused me to go back from where I started - the rut. I call the whole process of pain and withdrawal (no learning) as the "rut race".

One person telling me, "Jo, I would not love again... it's too painful.. my last boyfriend.. blah blah blah.." And she just had all the reasons why she would never invest her heart to another person.

One author said that in business we need to "practice disappointment". And I believe we should practice "handling disappointment" in life too. One thing I know, we will always be disappointed. One author said it this way,"in one way or another, no matter how well you play the game there are really times that someone will drop the ball and you will lose the game". In a way, the author said, in one way or another no matter how well you do things one person will disappoint you. So when you get disappointed... all I can say is "welcome to life".

Our ability to handle disappointments in life determines in our maturity as a person. If you are like the cat who jumped to a hot stove... make sure you associate the "hotness" to pain rather than the stove to pain.