The straw that broke the camel's back

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a merchant needed a camel to transport straw to another city. Since each piece of straw weighed no more than a feather, the merchant did not anticipate the rest of the story. As each piece of straw was put on the camel's back, the camel never complained. The camel said to his master, "I can handle this. I have lots of energy. I am strong, and after all, it is my responsibility to carry the straw."

Well, we all know what happened. The camel never complained, it did what camels are suppose to do, and the addition of one final blade of straw buckled the knees of the camel, broke its back, and he slumped to the desert floor. This is a famous story which fits into many of the themes on our stress blog. Some of the themes which I derive from the story are as follows.

The camel, like many of us, never learns to say "no." He did what he was supposed to do as do many of us and it took its toll on his health and well-being.

The camel, like many of us, did not know its limits. We only have so much strength, we only have so much time, and we only have so much energy. If we continue to say "yes" to everything, we are set up for the same fate as the camel.

The camel did not strike a compromise with his master. There were no discussions of limits; there were no discussions of dividing up the burden to use other camels; there was no attempt to negotiate with the master a better way to deliver the product or to complete the task.

So, what other lessons do you find in the power walk of the camel? In a sense, each of us is a camel with responsibilities and tasks and very clear limits. What have some of us learned so that we do not go down the same road as our camel brethren?

Resource: By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Published on 2/7/08 at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY00152