Milo was off on his journey! Bored with his life and with no place in particular to go, he suddenly found himself driving through the magical world of the childhood classic book “The Phantom Tollbooth”, (Norton Juster, 1961). As Milo starts to drive through this strange new world, towards a city known as “Dictionopolis”, without noticing, he takes a wrong turn. Slowly the sky around him begins to grow darker, birds stop singing, colors disappear, and Milo finds himself deep in the mysterious land of the “Doldrums”.
The first thing Milo discovers is that nobody does ANYTHING in this slimy place. The creatures that live there have forbidden any thinking or action of any kind - all they want to do is eat and sleep and sleep some more. Doing anything more is against the law! Any time Milo brings up a critical thought or idea, its immediately shot down, so they can get back do, well, doing more of nothing. After all, doing nothing is pretty easy, isn’t’ it?
Scene from the 1970 animated film.
At first, Milo is shocked - he wants to get out! What point is there in being in a land that nobody cares about anything, and nobody thinks about anything. Everything here is so depressing! However, the longer he finds himself in the Doldrums, the more he starts to get used to it, and not mind it that much. He sits back, relaxes a little, and starts to blend right in to all the little critters around him doing, well, NOTHING. It’s only when the big Watch Dog (representing time, and its value), comes to rescue him, does he finally get dragged away to safety!
We’ve all probably found ourselves in the Dolrums at one time or another. Whether in our lives or our careers or our businesses or relationships - we just don’t want to give it much effort any more. At first it feels wrong, but then we get used to it, and then we slowly slip into a routine of not caring that much. Before you know it, we’re in the Doldrums and we’re enjoying it!
Maybe you find yourself in that situation now - are you struggling to get out? Always be on the lookout for thoughts that will drag you down, and immediately reject them. Thoughts and ideas are like airplanes, all circling and waiting to land on the airstrip of your mind and heart. You are the control tower. You decide who lands, and how long they can stay! Don’t let negative thoughts or lazy ideas even enter your airspace! Stay away from the Doldrums! And remember :
“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield