Are you a Frog or a Toad?

If you have children you are likely familiar with the Frog & Toad characters created by Arnold Lobel. One of my very favorite Frog & Toad stories is called “Cookies”. It is about cookies and willpower. It does an excellent job of illustrating how two different personality types react to the temptation of cookies.

It goes like this:
Toad bakes a huge batch of delicious cookies and takes them to Frog’s house.
Toad and Frog eat lots of cookies. (Read entire story)

FROG: You know, Toad, I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.


TOAD: You are right, let us eat one last cookie and then we will stop.

(There were still lots of cookies in the bowl.)

TOAD: Frog, let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop…we must stop eating!


FROG: Yes, we need will power.


TOAD: What is will power?


FROG: Will power is trying very hard not to do something you really want to do.

(Frog suggests putting the cookies into a box.)

TOAD: But we can open the box.

(Then Frog suggests tying a string around the box.)

TOAD: But we can cut the string and open the box.

(Frog suggests placing the box high upon a shelf.)

TOAD: But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box.

(Frog agrees. He takes the box of cookies outside.)

FROG: Hey birds, here are cookies!

(The birds come, they eat all the cookies.)

TOAD (sadly): Now we have no more cookies to eat, not even one.


FROG: Yes, but we have lots and lots of will power.


TOAD: You may keep it all, Frog. I am going home now to bake a cake.

So, which are you? Frog or Toad?

TOADS:

If you identify with Toad you know you have to leave the chips & candy at the store…you should not even bring them into your home. So, Toads, get rid of that Halloween candy NOW!!

FROGS:

If you are fortunate enough to be like Frog you know that the “out of sight, out of mind” approach works for you and you will be OK with goodies in the house as long as they are not in plain sight. You also know that you can throw them away (or feed them to the birds) if you can’t resist a minute longer.



The message is: know thyself.

What works for Frog does not work for Toad and vice versa.