Not Your Duck

Some of you may have heard this story from me or someone before so if you have hopefully this will be review.

So often in life there are times in which we spend way too much energy and time on other’s problems, only to realize that it is not my problem.

I love hearing this lesson illustrated through the story of the duck. For those of you who have never heard it you are in for a treat.

One day a man opens his door to see his neighbor there in a panic holding a glass vase with a duck stuck inside. The neighbor explains that the vase is priceless and he desperately needs help getting the duck out of the vase without breaking the vase or harming the duck. The neighbor hands the vase to the man and thanks him for his help.

The man took the vase and placed it on his kitchen counter.

For three days he did not sleep, he did not eat, he was pained with anxiety and stress trying to find a solution that would both not injure the duck AND not break the vase. He was losing his mind, missing work, and could not figure out how to solve this problem and return back to his normal life.

On the third day, the man figured out the perfect solution.

The man marched across his lawn, over to his neighbor’s home, and proudly knocked on the door to his neighbor’s home. Upon his neighbor answering the door the man shoves the vase with the duck still stuck deep inside of it back to his neighbor and states, NOT MY DUCK, NOT MY PROBLEM!

The man has successfully solved his problem. He slept wonderfully that night and woke up rested and energetic the next day.

How many times do we agonize over other’s ducks?

Unwilling or unaware that the problem is not ours and we could easily eliminate a lot of the agony in our lives by simply returning the duck or never taking the duck in the first place.

I strongly encourage you to evaluate what out of the current stress in your life actually belongs to you. Own those items, prioritize their solutions, and give the rest of the ducks back to their rightful owners.

Practice saying to yourself (and possibly others) over the next week, NOT MY DUCK. If your peers look at you with confusion, share this blog with them.