The Tale of a Little Donkey

first published some time in 2008

There is this cute little tale of a farmer, his son and a donkey.They are going to the market on a lovely warm day the son riding the donkey while the farmer is walking.

They meet a guy and he starts shouting at them: 'You with your young legs are riding and let your old father walk, shame on you!'
They decide that he has a point and swap places. Until they meet another guy who starts shouting: 'You are a strong grown man and you are riding while you let your poor little son walk, shame on you!'

At first they are a bit confused but then they decide that the guy has a point and both climb the donkey. Until they meet a third guy who starts shouting: 'Look at you two, the poor donkey. How can two blokes ride on that poor little animal together?' They decide that he has a point too, pop the donkey on their shoulders and carry it to the market.


I’m not sure that the donkey is the winner in this story. But I’m sure that you have encountered similar situations where everybody seems to know better. You get all sorts of friendly advice, and everybody seems to be offended if you are not taking it on board. Everybody is meaning so well with helping in, while the load on your shoulders is getting bigger and bigger – as if you wouldn’t have enough problems anyway.

These blogs contains a lot of advice as well, and I would be happy if some of it would help you to achieve what you always wanted to achieve. But there is no way around one single truth: You are in charge of your life and there is nobody in the whole world who knows you better than yourself. So, never let other people put a donkey on your shoulders!

drawings by Rika