Anyone likes tomatoes? Did you know that it was once believed that tomatoes were poisonous? On one late autumn day in 1830, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson stood on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, Massachusetts with a basket full of tomatoes. Despite warnings that its poison would turn his blood to acid, he told several hundred spectators that he planned to eat the entire basket – and survive. As we can probably guess, he survived all right.

Anyone likes to travel? Did you know that it was once believed that the world is flat? People would dare not to go beyond the known boundary in fear that they would “fall off the earth.”

These beliefs may seem ridiculous now. But they were not so at the time. One intriguing thing about these stories is how beliefs can change. The things we thought to be true at the time can turn out to be completely fault. Our beliefs system has a lot to do with the world we grow up with. If our parents, our families, our friends, everyone we know, and the world around us agree on one fact, it must be true right? It is so most of the times, but not always. We do have a choice. We can form our own belief. And when we do, our actions will also follow. So if our old beliefs are holding us back, why not try a new one for a change? Who knows, biting on that tomatoes might not be so bad after all.

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Although I now understand the reason why the first two ducks fought against the other ducks, I was mad at them at the time and stopped giving food. I went back to enjoy my sandwich and the pleasant scenery of the lake. With the food supply cut off, the first two ducks disappeared. “So predictable,” I thought to myself. Though I did wonder where they went, for I had looked around and didn’t see or hear them anywhere. But it didn’t matter where they went since I was then able to have lunch by the lake like I wanted to for the first time.

It must have been about ten minutes after they were gone that I started hearing something from underneath the table. As I looked to see what it was, there they were, sitting quietly underneath the picnic table the whole time! My God, how could I have been so blind? The two ducks were there the whole time and I didn’t even see them. I began to wonder whether they felt bad about the whole fighting episode and didn’t want to be seen. For sure they still wanted the food; otherwise, they would have been long gone already. Their action completely won me over once again and I resumed giving them food.

What these two ducks did was quite remarkable to me. Not only did they took initiative to win my attention and did what it takes to defend their hard earned food, they were willing to change their way to get the result. If the two ducks were to stood in front of me like they had done earlier while I was still mad at them, they would certainly not get the food. Instead, they changed their approach and backed off without losing sight of their desire purpose. In our lives, there may be many instances where we face similar situations. Just because things didn’t work this time doesn’t mean that things will not work in the future. Sometimes it takes a different approach to succeed. Sometimes, we may need to change the timing. When we get a “no” from a person, it could be that the person is not ready to say “yes” at that point. But if we were to try again when they are ready, a “yes” will surely be there. The key is to always evaluate and readjust, then try again. The ones who succeeded simply had more attempts and tried more ways. They also are willing to even change their goals when it is needed. So be like the ducky, and be willing to change to succeed.

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