All the countries of the world decide to hold a contest to see who has the best crabs. Each country gathers on a neutral beach toting a large wooden crate full of their finest crabs to the international affair. Each country appoints a dutiful guard whose sole responsibility is to carefully watch over the crate, ensuring the prized crabs don’t escape.
First up to be judged is the United States. The American guard protectively minds the precious crate as he pulls a metal key from his pocket and unlatches the lock and lifts the heavy chains shrouding the box. As he slowly opens the lid to the wooden box, countless crab claws are already clipping at the top of the box to escape. The guard quickly slams
The judge is impressed, but moves on to the next country, France. The Parisian guard is also standing close to his wooden crate of Grade A French crabs. The judge asks him to remove the lid and the French guard unlatches his crate, following the judge’s request. Like the U.S. guard, the French watchmen pulls off the lid of the box and quickly slams it down as the crabs try to escape from their wooden prison.
The judge nods approvingly and continues down the row of countries with similar reactions from all the countries’ top-notch crab-guards, until he arrives at his last wooden crate, the Japanese.
The judge notices the lid is already off the box and the Japanese guard is yards away, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette, hardly paying attention to the crabs crawling around in the open crate.
The judge approaches the guard with surprise, “Aren’t you worried about your crabs escaping?”
“No”, the guard replies and laughs. “We have the best crabs in the world! They won’t let each other break free. When one almost escapes, another one clips him with his claw and pulls him back in”.
This phenomenon is called "crab mentality" and by definition describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase, “If I can't have it, neither can you”.
At times we all may feel a slight pang of envy toward someone for an opportunity or accomplishment that we would desire for ourselves. This is normal.
However, "crab mentality" rears its hideous evil head when someone uses this positive gain against another negatively. It is one thing to feel a jealous twinge; it is quite another thing to pull someone down from reaching their dreams and goals, simply because you cannot reach your own. After all, haven't we all heard the time old adage, "misery loves company?"
Why is that? Because the other crabs would rather that other crabs NOT find their own freedom. The other crabs live in the illusion that "misery loves company". When they're alone in their misery, then they HAVE to do something about it. As long as they are surrounded by others as miserable as themselves, they don't have to do a damn thing about it. They're all in the same boat, loving every moment of it!
As we change, evolve and grow, our friends and families may feel threatened, and actually strive to hold us back.
People with “crab mentality” are critics, full of resentment, anger and jealousy. Therefore, your climb to the top may be lonely at times, but the payoff will be worth it all.
I believe “crab mentality” people get "offended" when others are authentically themselves because they know they aren't being authentic. Crabs feel threatened by the inference that they HAVE to be authentic too. We all have the choice of whether to be authentic or not. Don't allow anyone to pull you back into the basket of the illusion!
Individual crabs could easily escape the confines of any barrel or basket IF they were left to their devices; but the crabs below them pull them back down to the bottom of the barrel in a pathological attack. When the collective spirit of a people is broken, they are no longer a threat. Their changed psychological state will not allow them to let anyone rise above the base level condition.
How do you crawl out of the basket? Begin where you are! Not even God could expect you to begin where you’re not :)
Again. Begin where you are.
If babies waited until they could walk to begin walking they may never fall down right? Use that and extend it to our life today...there’s our first valuable lesson: We’re supposed to be clumsy as we try new things. With practice, we gain closer to the realization of our ideal, our dreams. That is not to say we won’t stumble or struggle. I speak from experience: Nearly 43 years ago I learned how to walk, and yet today i STILL trip! Does that mean I’m a failure as a walker? Do I stop walking just because I stumbled? No!! When I stumble, I dust myself off and keep on walking!
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