The theory is that when crabs are in a bucket on the way to being someone’s entrée they unanimously choose to stick together and face their demise. If a rogue crab decides to live and makes for an escape by climbing out of the bucket, the other crabs pull him back in. If they’re headed for a pot of boiling water – the rogue is coming with them.
There are people who behave like crabs. The kind that just love to rain on your parade, burst your bubble, pull you down. The disgruntled, the dream-squashers, the guilt-makers, pooh- poohers, Debbie Downers, anger balls – tell me you get it, because I could just keep going.
They’re miserable, so you should be too. They make a mistake, so they look for a mistake you’ve made. They are angry, depressed, disappointed with their life and rather than grab hold of your happy disposition, they search for something you’ve done or failed to do and transfer the negativity they are shouldering on to you. They snap at you, dump on you, pick at you, fuel you with doubt – till they have you where they are – at the bottom of the bucket.
Rather than latch on to your solution, hopeful optimism – they grab you, pulling you down with the attitude, “If I’m hopeless, so are you”. If they gave you a boost, a leg up – they might be expected to make something of themselves. They might have to change. They might have to abandon their moody, martyrdom of misery. They might have to accept responsibility for being at the bottom of their own bucket.
Next time, someone is sharing their laughter, enthusiasm, excitement, solution or dream – don’t be a crab in the bucket. Follow their lead. Give them a boost – or let them reach back and grab hold of you and pull. Cheer on the one that climbs out – the one that makes it. It means that there’s hope, there’s possibility, there’s a chance. There’s this – “They made it! So I can too!” It’s a good lead to follow.
Next time, you start your day and you’re in a happy mood or you’ve reached
an epiphany or you have a moment where you want to shout “eureka” and you feel someone biting at your heels (and it could be you, doing it to you!). Stamp your feet, shake them off and chant,
No time to get down ‘cause I’m moving up
No time to get down ‘cause I’m moving up
No time to get down ‘cause I’m moving up
Take out the crabs in the bucket”
Crabbuckit by, K-OS
Saturday Night Live – Debbie Downer