A Short Story About Murderous Crabs to Help You Get More Joy From Life

Meet Clawbert, he's going to change your damn life.

Did you hear about the crab and the bucket?

That sounds like the setup for a bad joke. Deep in my heart, I hope it is. It’s also a simple way to frame your perspective and inject more joyful meaning into your daily life.

You can either:

a). Delete this email and ask the Gods to curse my bloodline (don’t choose this option).

b). Read on and embrace your inner crab (go on, pinch the moment).

A single crab can escape a bucket 🦀

Let’s call this crab, Clawbert.

Clawbert doesn’t fancy life in a bucket (can you blame him?). So he goes up the side and out. In one swift lateral move, he’s free to pursue his dreams, whether living under a rock or becoming part of a delicious seafood bisque.

But things change when you fill that bucket with crabs. Instead of shared freedom, the teeming mass of crabs drags each other down. No one escapes. Clawbert sprains a pincer. It’s crab hell.

There’s no malice at play. Crabs aren’t selfish by nature or seething with crustacean-fueled jealousy. There’s no tall poppy syndrome in the crab world (they’re too small for that).

Each crab simply grabs at something in their attempt to escape up the walls of the bucket. Clawbert and co do what’s best for them to climb higher in the short term and inadvertently make long-term escape impossible by dragging one another down.

They all want to escape, so no one does.

There’s a life lesson there.

Try helping other crabs out of the bucket

Crabs are people, in case I wasn’t clear. The bucket is life.

I’m not suggesting you help people escape life (that’s dark advice). Instead, be intentional about helping people find freedom through positive choices.

Spoiler Alert: You end up winning when they do.

It’s tempting to focus your energy inward. Life feels like a single-player game. But there are advantages to looking outwards. And there are perks to be unlocked when you start seeing things through a multi-player lens.

Research shows a clear link between helping others and increased feelings of well-being. Kind and helpful behaviour can add meaning to your life. The more altruistic action you take, the better you end up feeling.

This isn’t a vague “feeling” either. Neuroscience shows that helping others activates your brain’s “reward” area. When you do good, you feel good. And that’s damn good.

We’re all just cute little crabs in a bucket. We all seek happiness that exists on the other side of that bucket. Practising kindness to others is one clear, proven path.

You can put your notepad away, too. I’m not equipped to tell you how to help others (some would say I’m barely equipped to send a weekly email). That depends on who, where and what you are. That part is up to you.

I’m just here to remind you that when you help others, you’re actually helping yourself. So go out there and make a difference, little crab.

Make Clawbert proud.

With love,

New World Porter

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