The Boy and the Filberts
Aesop's Fables · 1 min read
A boy, given permission to take a handful of filberts from a jar, reached in and grabbed as many nuts as his greedy fist could possibly hold, filling his hand completely to its limit.
When he tried to pull his closed fist back out through the jar's narrow neck, it would not fit — his hand, clenched around so many nuts, had simply become too wide for the opening it had passed through easily when empty. He pulled and struggled, and began to cry in frustration, certain the jar itself had somehow trapped him unfairly.
His mother, watching, gently suggested he simply let go of half the nuts. Reluctantly, disappointed at giving up any of his prize, the boy released some of his grip — and immediately his hand slipped free, still holding a perfectly reasonable amount. "You cannot have everything you reach for all at once," his mother told him. "Sometimes wanting too much all at the same time is exactly what keeps you from getting anything at all."
Moral of the story
Wanting too much all at once can be exactly what keeps you from getting anything at all.