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Too Hot to Handle
It occurred right after
my workout at the gym.
As I gathered my
belongings on my way out
of the locker room, I
overheard two women
talking as they weighed
themselves on the scale.
One of them—quite
overweight—got on a
scale, got off, and
exclaimed to her friend,
“If someone would have
told me 10 years ago
that I would weigh as
much as I do now, I
never would have
believed it! How did
this happen?”
Just like this woman,
many people ask
themselves how they got
to where they are today.
Whether it is an
overweight person, a
drug addict or a victim
of domestic violence,
none of them would ever
imagined putting up with
their current situation.
So, how and why did they
allow themselves to
reach this point?
This question reminded
me of a laboratory
experiment in which the
resistance of frogs to
high temperatures is
tested. In this
experiment, two glass
containers are filled
with water and placed on
a stove. A frog is
placed in one container
and, little by little,
the scientist turns up
the flame. As the water
heats up, the animal
becomes agitated,
therefore seeking for
survival. So, his first
attempt is to jump out
of the container;
however, as the
scientist lowers the
flame, the frog calms
down. This process is
repeated several times,
but each time the
scientist increases the
temperature slightly
higher. As the frog
becomes agitated, the
flame is lowered again.
Over time, the frog
adjusts to the high
temperatures until it
doesn’t realize it is
burning and dies. |
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Maria Marín hosts a
syndicated national
radio show “Tu Vida es
Mi Vida.” To find out
about the station in
your city, visit her
website:
www.MariaMarin.com
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In the second container,
the second frog is
submerged on extremely
hot water. Unable to
tolerate the high
temperature, this frog
jumps out immediately—saving
its life.
After thinking about the
experiment, I realized
that many people act
like the frog that dies.
Sometimes we believe we
can manage situations
that are “too hot to
handle” because after a
while they cool down.
Unfortunately, as we
continue to accept these
bad situations, we don’t
recognize that we are
slowly burning to death
as they worsen over
time.
For anyone who is 50
pounds overweight, it
all began when they
adjusted to their first
five pounds. For the
woman who is physically
abused, it all started
when she allowed the
verbal abuse from her
partner.
Why do we accept harmful
situations? Because we
believe it is easier to
accept less than what we
truly deserve than to
try to achieve something
better for ourselves.
Even though these
situations may not kill
us like the frog, we
slowly allow our spirit
to die.
To determine whether or
not you are in a
situation that is too
hot to handle, ask
yourself the following
question, “What am I
putting up with in my
life that I should no
longer tolerate?”
Don’t wait until you hit
rock bottom to make a
change. Acknowledge the
hot water you are in and
jump out before you burn!
By Maria Marín |
