Life Lessons From a Bunch of Bananas
Life Lessons from a Bunch of Bananas 3 Important life lessons can easily be understood using a bunch of bananas as an analogy.
- Lesson 1: Focus on the Present: Don’t Eat Rotten Bananas.
- Lesson 2: Make the best of what you are given: Bake a Banana Cake
- Lesson 3: Don’t rush things: Wait for the unripe Bananas to ripen
What is a Bunch of Bananas?
A bunch of bananas has many bananas. The bananas are of different ripeness. One banana is rotten (over ripe), one is ripe and the others are unripe.The bananas ripen one by one each day. We eat one banana a day.
Lesson 1: Focus on the Present: Don’t Eat Rotten Bananas
How are the two related?
Consider two scenarios:
Scenario one : We eat the rotten banana. The first day, we eat the rotten banana. The second day, the ripe banana has become rotten. Hence we will be eating rotten bananas everyday.
Scenario two: We don’t eat the rotten banana. The first day, we throw away the rotten banana and eat the ripe banana. The second day one of the unripe bananas will ripen and we will get to eat a ripe banana. Hence we will be eating ripe bananas everyday.
Applying this maxim in the classroom
Paying attention in class is very important. If you are distracted with doing something else, you will miss out on important points in the lesson and may not be able to catch up. Hence, “ Don’t eat rotten bananas” in class means focussing on what is being discussed during the lesson.
Applying this maxim in your studies.
Students have limited time to study many subjects. They want to perform well and get good grades. Sometimes it is not just good grades but the total marks that matter. It takes a lot of time to understand and make sense of things. As a student you may need to trade-off understanding. If you are still stuck and don’t understand after putting in some effort, then you may need to memorise and move on to the next topic. After your exams, you can take your time to get a deeper understanding.
Applying this maxim to life in general
Don’t waste time on regrets and what might have been. The most important time we have is the present. We need to learn to seize chances as they come, let bygones be bygones and live a full and rewarding life. Throw away the rotten banana and focus on eating and enjoying the ripe one. We should take charge of the present. We need to live in the present.
Lesson 2: Make the best of what you are given: Bake a Banana Cake
Question: But what if your bunch of bananas are all too ripe? Do you throw it all away? Answer: Bake a banana cake. Slightly over ripe bananas are actually better than bananas that are just ripe for baking banana cakes. Turn a disadvantage into a strength with the help of some creativity.
Lesson 3: Don’t rush things: Wait for the unripe Bananas to ripen
Question: What if none of the bananas are ripe? What do we do? Answer: You have several choices. You can eat a tart unripe banana, turn it into banana chips or just wait for the banana to ripen. Some things cannot be rushed. If we wait, we get to savour the sweetness of our patience.
Summary
Whatever bananas you get, you have a choice with what to do. This is also true in life. Whatever happens, you choose what you want to do and how to live it. Learn from these 3 lessons and make choose wisely.
