Reality Check: Will You Ever Grow, Moso?

In his book, “A Set of Directions for Putting and Keeping Yourself Together,” Dr. Bob Wubbolding tells a little story about the Moso bamboo. According to Dr. Bob, it can take years of persistent care and watering of seeds before a Moso plant even breaks the soil. However, when the time is right and the plant emerges, it makes up for its slow start with explosive growth.
From my limited research, I’ve gathered that there are differing accounts about exactly how fast Moso seeds germinate and how huge they grow. That’s probably interesting to those of you who are horticulturally-inclined. For me, what is interesting is a different point.
During that long period of apparent nothingness, things are happening underground.
Just because we can’t see progress doesn’t mean there isn’t any. The plant is establishing a root system, building a strong foundation for the future.
Why is an elaborate root system necessary? For support, as some bamboos can grow more than a foot in a day! That would get your attention in the garden, wouldn’t it?
The story of the Moso is often used to illustrate the benefits of patience and persistence. It’s no surprise that a message about persistence is included in a book targeted toward helping people “put and keep themselves together.”
But how do we know when to persist and when to let go?
It would be fascinating to know the story of the first farmer who figured out that you have to keep watering Moso seeds for years before they show signs of growth. Maybe it was an accidental discovery. Maybe it was just stubbornness. Either way, the benefit for us is that we don’t have to figure it out from scratch. We already know how this works; it takes years for the seeds to build a foundation, but if we persist with the right care, eventually we see results.
That said, the difference between virtuous persistence and misdirected stubbornness can be annoyingly unclear. How do we know? While I don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer, I have a few suggestions you might consider.
A question often used in Choice Theory is helpful for evaluating our actions. It asks, “Is what I’m doing getting me closer to what I want, or is it taking me further away?”
While this is a great question for many situations, it can still leave us puzzled when we are considering very long-term goals. If we can’t see progress, how do we know whether we are getting closer?
Fortunately, we don’t have to figure out everything from scratch. Thanks to other people’s experiences, and maybe even a few of our own, we know that there are some tried and true behaviours that will eventually build a strong foundation. They may even trigger wondrous growth!
For example, building and maintaining at least some good relationships helps to create a satisfying life. That can require persistence and patience!
Taking responsibility for one’s own basic security/survival can require both persistence and courage. Getting a job, managing money; all of that can seem daunting, especially if this is new to you. Just like the Moso, you may not see progress for awhile, but persistence will pay off.
Education can be useful for several reasons. We often think of learning as simply a tool to get or advance in a job. However, successfully completing an educational goal can also satisfy our need for power/recognition. And, we might even learn something!
Those are just a few actions where we can be reasonably certain that persistence will pay off. We can’t always know what’s going on below the surface. But we can prepare the ground, build a good foundation, and persist.
What do you think builds a good foundation?