Even though the grapes looked delicious the fox decdied that they were sour and not worth the effort to reach them.
“There is no point in me working on this pose anymore” thinks Alice. “No matter how hard I try I am not making any progress. I am not getting any benefit from it. ”
Alice is suffering from the Sour Grape trap. Aesop wrote about Sour Grapes a long time ago in his story about the Fox and the Grapes.
The Fox and the Grapes
One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success.
Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”
Moral: It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
What is the Sour Grapes trap
When Alice decided that there is no benefit from working to improve how well she is performing a particular pose she falling into the Sour Grapes trap.
When does the Sour Grapes trap happen
The Sour Grapes trap can happen at the most surprising times. You may be struggling to improve how well you are doing in a pose when you suddenly decide that there is no point to continue the struggle.
In Alice’s case it happened after working on Marichyasana D for a long time. It can also happen after only a short period of time.
Alice gives up on working to improve her flexibility in the pose and says that she will get no benefit from the pose and moves on to another pose. Like the fox in Aesop’s story Alice decides that the pose is not worth the effort.
Why does the Sour Grapes trap occur
The Sour Grapes trap happened for Alice because she has not made much progress towards her goal of binding in Marichyasana D. Alice has become frustrated and embarrassed at her lack of progress.
To hid her embarrassment about her lack of progress and to make her feel better about herself Alice decides that the goal of binding in Marichyasana D is not worth the effort. She decides that there is no benefit for her to continue towards that goal.
How to avoid the Sour Grapes trap
Alice can avoid the Sour Grapes trap by
- working with her teacher to find different ways to progress towards her goal of binding in Marichyasana D.
- recognizing the progress that has already been made.
- setting smaller goals
- accepting that it will take a long time to achieve the full version of the pose
Summary
The fox gave up on trying to get the grapes after only a short amount of time saying that they were sour and not worth the effort. The Sour Grapes trap can hit you like the fox at anytime. It may happen right away or it may take a while.
When you realize that you are giving up on a pose talk to your teacher about your situation. They maybe able to show some different ways to approach your goal that may help you to move forward.
You can set smaller incremental goals to recognize the progress you have already made and celebrate your success as you achieve these smaller goals.
Next Step
When you feel that the Sour Grapes trap is about to take a hold of you talk to your teacher.
Additional Reading
To learn more about seeting smaller goals read How the Filbert Principle will improve your yoga practice
The article Why you should embrace the Ugly Duckling pose shows you how to set your ego aside and work with the yoga poses that you find difficult.
