The answer to every trap is found in stories that deliver some golden nuggets in the end. So, Thoughts & Productivity set out on a journey to  find, curate, filter, adapt and present these stories in a way that is actionable for you today. Wednesday Story is a short 2 min story that simply aims to improve at least one aspect of your personal or professional life and spark some interesting ideas in your brain.

👋 Hello subscribers! This week, we've got a shiny piece of ancient wisdom for you wrapped within a story that's just as relevant to your life today as it was to those who first shared it thousands of years ago.

Story

This story is about 2 devout Buddhist monks; one older and one younger on a journey through an ancient land. On this journey, they come to a river and there they find a woman who is struggling to cross it.

The monks look at each other.

Both have taken vows to never touch a woman and both have lived fruitful and fulfilled lives so far by holding on to the strength of their beliefs.

But suddenly, without a word to his younger friend, the older monk lifts the woman onto his shoulders and carries her over to the other side of the river.

Once he sets the woman down on the ground and she thanks him profusely, the monks continue on their journey. The younger monk is so shocked at this act that he can barely look at, let alone speak to his counterpart for an hour.

After another two hours of walking under the warm spring sunshine, the younger monk can no longer tolerate the overwhelming pressure to say something, anything to his elder.

“Brother!”

—he exclaimed suddenly.

“Why on earth did you carry that woman across the river? You have flouted your vows to never touch a woman. What will you do now?”

The older monk replies in a calm and measured voice—

“My brother, I sat her down on the other side of the river. It is you who still carries her with you in your mind.”

Moral

I must ask you, dear subscribers, what are you still carrying on your shoulders? What are you still holding on to that's causing you pain like the younger monk?

The difference between the older and the younger monk is not the standards that they set for themselves, and not even necessarily how strong their beliefs are, but their different attitudes toward accepting what has happened in their past.

However successful and fulfilled your life is, we're all human and we will perform actions that don't align with our existing principles due to circumstances beyond our control, because in those moments, we think it's the right thing to do.

But, of course, this can lead to doubt. Doubt is human. Doubt that you've reached your full potential is the one that keeps you striving for more. But how much doubt do you have that doesn't serve you?

The reason the older monk carries on walking without the weight on his mind is simply a matter of trust. He trusted his own judgment enough to know that the decision he came to, despite being unorthodox, was the right call at that time.

The younger monk didn't have the same trust in himself to perform the same action. He depended on the structures around him to guide him through life.

So, subscribers, are you willing to carve your own path through life? To trust yourself? To make the right decisions at the right times? To allow the doubts that you have that don't serve you to subside?

Because here's the secret that nobody tells you—it's all within your reach!

Like what you read? Then why not support it?

Thoughts & Productivity is a reader-supported publication that is managed by a team of 4-5 people who’re sharing extremely helpful content for free and still managing their 9-5 to pay the bills and feed their families. So, if you can afford it, please support us by upgrading to a paid subscription. For those who’re already paid subscribers, we cannot express in words how grateful we are and how it really helps us put quality content three times a week.

Upgrade Subscription

Start a 7-day free trial

Our objective is to reach 1 million people and share thoughts & productivity that compounds over time. To be a part of this movement, you can consider sharing it with 5 of your friends, families, or co-workers.

Share

Give a gift subscription

Promote on Wednesday Story: We’re open to promotions and sponsors among our massive 10,000+ dedicated audience with a 70%+ email open rate as we keep refining our subscriber database and only send to those who’re active. Wednesday Story can be a perfect marketing opportunity for your product or service as the quality of the content itself is well appreciated by tens of thousands of weekly readers and top editors. We’ll embed your product or service at the beginning and end of the Wednesday Story.

We’re also open to collaborating in Saturday Insights and Sunday Digest.

Interested? Contact us at thoughtsandproductivity@gmail.com and we promise to revert within 48 hours. Want to know more about us? Check our about page.

See you this weekend with Saturday Insight #8.