I am pretty sure that sometime in your life, you would have heard/read this story, or a story similar to this.
A farmer and his son wanted to sell their donkey in the market.
So, they walked to the market, pulling the donkey along with them.
They passed by a field and met another farmer who called out to them, "What's wrong with the both of you? Why are you walking when you have a donkey that you can ride on?"
The farmer looked at his son and told him to ride on the donkey.
The son obliged.
A while later, they met a lady who was on the way back from the market herself.
"Shame on you, young man," she said. "How can you let your father walk all the way to the market while you are riding on the donkey? Get down this instance and let your father ride the donkey".
The son, red-faced, got down from the donkey and told his father to ride it instead.
Not too long later, they met a couple of farmers who were working on their fields.
"Look at that," one of the farmers said to the other. "The father is having a good time riding the donkey, while his son has to suffer the heat and walk."
The farmer and his son were dumbfounded.
Finally, they decided that they would both ride on the donkey.
The donkey, struggled to walk as the combined weight of the farmer and his son was just too much for him to bear. As it was trying it's best to put one step after another, another farmer walked pass.
"What are the both of you doing? Are you crazy? Can't you see that you are too heavy for the donkey? It is the both of you who should be carrying the donkey to the market, not the other way round."
The farmer and his son then got down of the donkey. After a while, they decided that the donkey is too tired to walk to the market and decided to carry the donkey themselves. They tied the donkey to a stick, upside down, and carried the stick over their shoulders.
The donkey, who had had about enough that day, did not like being upside down. It kicked, and brayed and struggled and managed to get itself free. It then ran away, as fast as it could.
The moral of the story : There is no way you can please everyone.
But then, the story does not really teach us to solve the problem, does it?
It gives so many variants of solutions, but none seems right.
In the end, the donkey escapes.
Problems, however, don't just disappear.
If you don't solve them, they just multiply.
So, what can you do?
Is it actually possible to solve a problem in a way that would make everyone satisfied/happy?
A farmer and his son wanted to sell their donkey in the market.
So, they walked to the market, pulling the donkey along with them.
They passed by a field and met another farmer who called out to them, "What's wrong with the both of you? Why are you walking when you have a donkey that you can ride on?"
The farmer looked at his son and told him to ride on the donkey.
The son obliged.
A while later, they met a lady who was on the way back from the market herself.
"Shame on you, young man," she said. "How can you let your father walk all the way to the market while you are riding on the donkey? Get down this instance and let your father ride the donkey".
The son, red-faced, got down from the donkey and told his father to ride it instead.
Not too long later, they met a couple of farmers who were working on their fields.
"Look at that," one of the farmers said to the other. "The father is having a good time riding the donkey, while his son has to suffer the heat and walk."
The farmer and his son were dumbfounded.
Finally, they decided that they would both ride on the donkey.
The donkey, struggled to walk as the combined weight of the farmer and his son was just too much for him to bear. As it was trying it's best to put one step after another, another farmer walked pass.
"What are the both of you doing? Are you crazy? Can't you see that you are too heavy for the donkey? It is the both of you who should be carrying the donkey to the market, not the other way round."
The farmer and his son then got down of the donkey. After a while, they decided that the donkey is too tired to walk to the market and decided to carry the donkey themselves. They tied the donkey to a stick, upside down, and carried the stick over their shoulders.
The donkey, who had had about enough that day, did not like being upside down. It kicked, and brayed and struggled and managed to get itself free. It then ran away, as fast as it could.
The moral of the story : There is no way you can please everyone.
But then, the story does not really teach us to solve the problem, does it?
It gives so many variants of solutions, but none seems right.
In the end, the donkey escapes.
Problems, however, don't just disappear.
If you don't solve them, they just multiply.
So, what can you do?
Is it actually possible to solve a problem in a way that would make everyone satisfied/happy?
