Page 5 - Fable Summaries

Self-Motivation/Self-Control
Our modern society has an epidemic...Wasting Time. This is our most precious possession but as a society we seem to spend little effort on maximizing its value. Our fables illustrate how the lack of self-motivation and self-control contribute to our “time wasting.” Some of the stories also illustrate how we will choose not to use the skills of self-motivation/control because it takes effort and discipline. Others fables will give guidance in teaching personal self-control, even to young children.
Anger/Demandingness ... “That’s not fair”
Anger is often the result of “Demandingness” beliefs that contain the “should”, “ought” and “must” connotations. “You should want to do this with me.” “I ought to be able to do what I want to do when I want to do it.” It is obvious that these two statements are unrealistic, irrational and demanding. Failure by others to comply will cause the “demanding” person to become angry and to blame others for their anger. As Cosmos Crow would say, “That is what most of you would do but you would be wrong, wrong , wrong.” The fables in this group address the multiple facets of the emotion of anger and how they can be managed.
Limiting Ourselves... in school, work, relationships and our lives
The most important limiting factor in our life is our own thinking. If you say to yourself,
“I can never learn this” you will not put out the effort necessary to succeed and will quit at the first difficulty. If you say to yourself, “Others will never like me” you will not try to learn the skills necessary to develop friendships since you know you will always be rejected. Neither of these two statements (beliefs) is true but because you believe them to be true, you make them come true. Our fables illustrate the “Limiting” thinking of the story characters. One of them also illustrates what may be the negative reaction of others when you choose to reject
limiting beliefs.
Pessimism... “The glass is always half empty”
Who really knows when pessimism, as a significant “thinking style”, begins? It can become a habit at a very young age and stay with us all our life. This will be a habit that will doom you to always seeing everything in your life as “not quite right”. Our fables will introduce you to spiders, a mouse and a princess that all fall into the “pessimism trap”. Fortunately, Cosmos Crow will provide you and your children to tools to get out of and stay out of that trap.