The Ant Philosophy: Lessons From The Ant

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8. Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” – Proverbs 6:6-8 KJV

I find it fascinating enough to think that a man would be asked to study the ant’s philosophy.

I will skip over the facts, the interesting data and go straight into the 10 lessons I have to share.

1. Prepare yourself. Ants think about winter all summer and they think summer all winter. They prepare ahead. During winter, when things are cold and seem difficult, it is important to look forward to summer. Believe that things will lighten up soon. That’s life. You can’t wait on your husband, your wife, your pastor to prepare you. Prepare yourself. Look ahead and prepare, don’t look ahead and panic.
2. Faith – The ant has enough faith to believe that he will live till summer. He disregards his natural enemies and is solely focused on where he is going. The ant has no time to worry about the distractions. You find yourself in a difficult situation, you need to think like the ant, summer is coming. Have faith and look ahead.
3. Be willing to look like a fool: The sun is on and you are gathering food for the winter, everyone will think you are crazy. There is abundance of food, why worry about saving? There is no rain, why are you planting? Ants may look like fools to the grasshopper. Isaac in the bible is a great example of a man who exhibited this philosophy of ants.

“1. And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech King of Philistines unto Gerar. 2. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 12. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. 13. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great.” – Genesis 26:1-2, 12-13

The man Isaac, sowed in the famine. I can imagine people saying; “look how crazy he is, there is no rain and he is out there in the sun sowing seeds. He is just wasting his time”. Sometimes you have to risk looking like a fool working on your dream because others don’t see it. Be like the ant, don’t worry because they can’t see what you see.

4. Don’t react, act. The ant doesn’t wait till the rains start before it starts gathering. Many people wait till something happens, they wait till winter is here before they look for their winter coats. Learn from the ant. Don’t react but act. Plan ahead and put things in place. “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
5. Have a great vision regardless of the limited resources. Ants can carry items fifty times their size. Your dream, your vision seems bigger and people think you are crazy? The ant doesn’t care the size, it keeps dragging it. Keep working on your dream however huge it may seem. It doesn’t happen quickly but keep working. We shall win, maybe not immediately but definitely.
6. Care for each other. That’s the beauty of humanity. One person looking out to help another. Provide services for others and you shall be rewarded. You should genuinely care for the well-being of others.
7. They leave their trail marks for other ants to follow to the source of food and back. Human beings when they discover something good will protect it and shield it from everyone. In college, there was a particular Organic Chemistry book which everyone wanted for reference. The first day I went to the section of the library it wasn’t there. A friend told me there are only three copies and some of the students in order to have access to it every time hide the book in different sections, like taking it to the geography section so others won’t have access to it except them. No, ants are different. Go where there is no path and leave a trail for others to follow.
8. Invest in the future. You can’t do anything about yesterday but you can do something today which can change tomorrow. Believe in your future and invest in it. Read, study. Learn new skills, prepare yourself for what you are dreaming of.
9. Ants are teachable. You must be able to learn as quickly as possible. We are in an era of accelerated change, tremendous competition and overwhelming complexities as Peter Drucker explains. How fast you learn, unlearn and relearn will determine how well you adapt to the changing time. Be teachable.
10. Ants are opportunistic, determined and they don’t give up. If you block their path, they will keep looking for another way to go. Around it, under it, across it, below, above, anyway possible. They just don’t give up. Ants take opportunities. Leave bread crumbs on the floor, ants come picking. However small, they are always looking to make use of every opportunity to prepare themselves.

“The ants are people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer” – Proverbs 30:25 KJV

RUDOLPH MENSAH
Author of the book BECOMING YOUR DREAM
rudolphmensah.com