Chengyu

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù)

Characters

守 shǒu: Guard

株 zhū: Tree Stump

待 dài: Wait

兔 tù: Rabbit

Story

A long time ago, a farmer was walking home from towing the fields. Suddenly, he noticed a rabbit sprung out of the grass and ran into a tree stump. The farmer ran to the stump to examine the rabbit. He licked his lips because he was going to have rabbit stir-fry and rabbit soup for dinner.

Next morning, the farmer thought to himself, “Why do I have to toil in the field all day long? All I have to do is wait by the tree stump again for another rabbit!” He found the same tree stump and waited nearby. From sunrise to sunset, he waited. In the end, the farmer left with only a grumbling stomach.

Lesson

The farmer thought he won the lottery—a rabbit a day for every day of his life. 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù)—to guard a tree trump and wait for a rabbit—means to wait idly for opportunities. That is, “to idle about”. The idiom has a negative undertone and is used to describe someone who relies on luck rather than hard work. A couch potato who wants to be successful one day would be an example of 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù).

Research

Delayed gratification involves forgoing an immediate reward for a larger future reward. Examples of delayed gratification include studying for a degree, investing, and working out.

One study examined how thinking about the future influence decisions on saving (1). Participants either thought about what life would be like in four years or recalled a typical day in their present life. The participants later stated the minimum interest they would accept for receiving a sum of money in a week rather than now. Participants who thought about the future required lower interest rates than the ones who thought about the present. By inducing a future-oriented mindset, the participants were more likely to delay gratification and accept a larger payment a week later. Distraction and redefining the short-term reward to decrease its appeal also helps delay gratification (2).

The farmer who waited by the tree stump knew how to delay gratification—it takes patience to wait for hours. However, waiting was not ideal in this case because the probability of being rewarded was low.

1. Cheng, Ying-Yao ; Shein, Paichi & Chiou, Wen-Bin. (2012). Escaping the impulse to immediate gratification: The prospect concept promotes a future-oriented mindset, prompting an inclination towards delayed gratification. British journal of psychology, 103(1), 129-41.


2. Kross, Ethan; Mischel, Walter & Shoda, Yichi. (2011). Enabling Self-control. In Maddux, James E.; Tangney, June Price. Social Psychological Foundations of Clinical Psychology. Guilford Press, 375–94.

The post 守株待兔 To Wait by the Tree Stump for a Rabbit appeared first on 古代成语 Ancient Chengyu.