Chapter 42 fox and grapes

The fox can't eat the grapes, so he says the grapes are sour, which is quite constructive for its mental health. There is a well-known story in "Aesop's Fables": A hungry fox saw several bunches of delicious grapes hanging on the high shelf in the vineyard. He jumped up and down again and again to catch those grapes, but all his efforts were in vain because he couldn't catch the grapes at all.Finally, it walked out of the vineyard exhausted, and said in a casual tone: I am not really hungry, and I thought the grapes were ripe, but now I see they are sour! This story is often cited as sour grapes.

Foxes have always been regarded as cunning animals, and most people would think that the fox in Youyu's fable is not normal, or that he is beating around the bush and not being aboveboard.But from another perspective, the behavior of the fox is also constructive for its mental health.If the fox walks out of the vineyard and says dejectedly, "I'm so hungry, but I can't eat the delicious grapes, my legs are too short and weak, I'm such a useless fox, shame on me, woe on me." !What's the point of my life if I can't even eat grapes?Otherwise, its future life is bound to become quite bleak.

The fox belittles what it can't get, and even denies its own needs (I'm not really hungry), in order to maintain its own self-esteem.From the standpoint of cognitive psychology, what this fable tells us is that the fox, through its imagination, redefines the situation so that it conforms to its own needs, values, and motivations.When it doesn't get what it desires and must delay gratification or endure some unpleasant situation, it adjusts its perception to lessen the frustration. Living in the world, people often encounter situations where they want to eat grapes but can’t. At this time, being a fox is quite constructive for our mental health.