Money lessons from the ant

The ant is an insignificant creature in the scheme of things when you look at who is who in the animal kingdom. However, the ant is an epitome of wisdom when it comes to planning the financial future. One thing stands the ant out among other animals in the animal kingdom – the ant prepares for winter two seasons ahead – during summer. There are at least three lessons embedded in that single attribute of preparing for the future today.

  

Letting go of the past

The ant does not live in the past. It lets go of its past and prepares for an event that is yet to occur – winter. It does not dwell on folks that borrowed from them and refused to pay back, relatives that collected money to help them build a house but pocketed the money and left behind an uncompleted project. It forgets about calamities suffered in the past, be it an accident, fire incident, robbery incident or anything that sets them back physically and financially, which can be used to explain why they are where they are today.

I have an elderly acquaintance nicknamed ‘Americana’. Americana returned to Nigeria after a three decade sojourn in the United States to move into a rented apartment because his brother embezzled the funds he sent from America for the building of a house for him. Americana has become bitter and alienated from his extended family because of this incident, refused to return to his family in the US and has no plans for the future beyond survival. Out of every two or three sentences Americana makes, one is about what his brother did to him and how that has prevented him from moving forward. Every attempt to encourage Americana to forget the past and create a new future seems to have failed.

The ant does not waste time twiddling its thumbs while bemoaning its past misfortunes. It is too busy making every day counts to indulge in the luxury of wasting time getting upset over past events he cannot do anything about. It knows that spring is past and winter is ahead.

  

Taking eyes off the present

The ant not only lets go of the past, it knows that today is a product of the past so rather than dwell on what is going on now, it focuses on how to create its desired future by taking the right actions today. It does not give in to peer pressure, enjoying the sunshine and harvest without a thought for tomorrow. It knows that tomorrow will not take care of itself – you determine how it turns out based on the quality of your preparation today.

The ant does not give excuses. It does not complain of heavy rains and adverse weather conditions. It creates its own weather by building giant anthills. The ant does not stop to whine and murmur. The ant does not run away from challenges, it faces it head on, turning problems into opportunities. Americana from the previous example has enough excuses to explain why he cannot move forward. His business is down, his knee is arthritic, the economy is bad, what he needs is survival. Rather than look up, he looks around and behind, seeing enough reason why he cannot move forward.

  

Being proactive rather than reactive

The ant has vision and is proactive. It can see winter coming before it shows up. It does not wait for winter to arrive before it starts preparing. It makes provision before the need shows up. It ignores the past, the present delights and challenges and focuses on creating the desired future. Other animals live in the moment, reacting as the need arise.

 If you wait for an event to occur before you respond, it might be too late. You should prepare for war in the time of peace. You don’t train for war when hostilities break out, neither can you take out an insurance policy after your car has been involved in an accident.  You don’t wait till you get to the bridge before you figure out how to cross it in most issues of life including your finances, health, and career, among others. You proactively avoid trouble rather than wait for it to hit you. If something is pursuing you, you better know how to cross the bridge before you get there, or whatever is pursuing you will catch up with you at the bridge.

 Setting big goals

The ant sets bold audacious goals. It is not intimidated by the size of the food particle. It is not uncommon to see an ant pulling a food crumb more than three times its size. When the crumb does not budge, it calls for backup. When I was young, I am always fascinated to see a food particle moving without seeing what is moving it, only to move closer and see one tiny ant busy at work, pulling it in. Sometimes the hole the ant wants to pass through is not wide enough. The ant still does not give up. It locates another passage, makes a detour and keeps going. Where many animals would have found excuses to give up and go look for something smaller, the ant keeps at it, calls for help and keeps pushing or pulling until the battle is won. The ant sets goals bigger than him and believes he can. He thinks big and dream big dreams. Rather than give excuses why he can’t (something we have become expert in), the ant finds a way round the obstacle and just makes it happen.

One of the biggest challenges we have as human is that we do not aim high. We set wimpy and uninspiring goals. When I asked Americana where he wanted to see himself in the next five to ten years, his answer was, to have regular income so that he would not have to beg for food. A man was asked what he would do with a million dollars, and his answer was, to pay off his debts as far as it would go. We underestimate our God given potentials and aim for the bottom of the barrel. Impossibility thinking has eaten deep into our psyche such that when an issue comes up, we first think of reasons why it will fail.

 Tomorrow will come

I feel sad anytime I read in the newspapers about pensioners stranded in the winter of their lives. There are younger folks who experience early winter, losing their jobs unexpectedly or suffering from business downturn. Many business owners rely on one source of income only. They believe that since they are working on their own, nobody can fire them hence they have no need for diversification of their income sources. They don’t anticipate change and prepare for it. They get blindsided and become part of the debris left behind by change.

 Are you experiencing your summer today? Do you have a regular income? Are you still in business? You may want to learn wisdom from the ant, an insect that lives life on its own terms – preparing for winter during summer.