The Elephant: Piece-By-Piece

The last two weeks have been chaotic for me. I accepted a new job with my current company and am now in job limbo. I am carrying on many duties of my previous job while my replacement is hired, while attempting to learn everything there is to know about my new job.

I really started to doubt myself. Can I learn new tasks and an entirely different role at this point in my life? Am I still able to enthusiastically embrace change like I did in my twenties?

My friend Nicole at Trajectory of a Life recently wrote about the Elephant Metaphor and the concept resonated with me so much I felt compelled to share it here.

(The elephant statue at my daughter’s favorite park. I wouldn’t be able to eat this adorable guy.)

Thinking about an elephant when life’s responsibilities seem too massive to handle reminds us to take a one-bite-at-a-time approach to daunting tasks. I don’t have to learn all 20 of the new software programs at my new job during my first three hours of training. Or, more morbidly speaking, we would all be able to eat an elephant if we don’t try to eat the whole thing at once.

All of this brings me to some self-realization: I am hard on myself when I am learning new things. I often expect perfection overnight, and become a bit overwhelmed when it doesn’t happen.

So this week I’m thinking about the elephant, and taking things piece-by-piece. Thank you, Nicole, for this little gem of wisdom. It has been remarkably helpful.

No elephants were harmed during the writing of this post. It’s merely metaphorical.