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Each animal will adopt a different approach to the same situation.
The animal is a metaphor for a basic attitude, the starting point from which you approach a certain situation. In the following example you can read how differently animals approach the same situation: the beginning of a new day, an ordinary day for each animal.

For the deer, every day begins in a different way...
If the sun is shining he will be awoken by a ray of sunshine and be cheerful. He’ll jump out of bed filled with energy. He’ll see the clothes he wore the day before lying on the floor but they won’t suit his mood today. He wants to wear something colorful. On his way to the closet he spots yesterday’s paper, with an article on ‘the best pizzas in the country’. Immediately, his thoughts stray to the delicious pizza he once ate in Italy when he was still a kid. This pizza was delivered in a large tin, covered with tinfoil, on the luggage rack of a light blue Ford. His mouth waters at the thought of this meal. Sadly he thinks back to this great vacation. To the warm mood and also remembers, this was the last vacation he got to spend with his dearly beloved grandmother. He shudders at this thought while he feels the sun shine on his skin, through the bedroom window. He glances at his watch and is horrified to see that fifteen minutes have gone by; he’ll have to hurry to be in time for work. While dressing he feels the soft lining of his fleece shirt which reminds him of the fact that he still needs to send some fabric samples to a new customer. He completely forgot: yesterday he was distracted by a colleague who passed by to show a new fabric from Thailand and he couldn’t resist taking a look... and that was another day gone.
If it rains, the deer will be awoken by his alarm clock. The dark skies will tempt him to get back into bed and stay there. There is no way he wants to begin the day in this weather.

The elephant’s day begins in exactly the same way, every single day...
The elephant wakes up five minutes ahead of the alarm clock and stretches his body three times as always. First he puts his left foot on the floor, and after two seconds his right foot follows suit. His watch is always on its fixed spot on the nightstand. He just needs two routine moves to click the watch around his wrist. The next step in the morning ritual is putting on his slippers, which are exactly placed 10 inches to the left of his nightstand. Some time ago his partner had put them in the cupboard at night and this had extremely irritated him. Now he had to go and find them, totally unnecessary, what a waste of energy! He walks around to the other side of the bed, gives his partner the usual morning kiss and says: ‘Morning, darling!’. He doesn’t wait for a response and continues with his daily routine.

The lion’s day begins on the previous day...
The lion has ambitious plans and knows beforehand what he wants to achieve the next day. Way before he gets out of bed his plans are already completely laid out. In preparation for the day he has chosen and laid out his clothes, set his GPS navigation system, filled up the car with gas and prepared his lunch package. The thermos is already filled with instant coffee all he needs to do is add hot water. In addition he has taken into account that he might encounter all sorts of obstacles and setbacks.
He gets up half an hour early and takes a shortcut so he won’t be bothered by traffic jams. Along the way he uses the radio and his observation skills to think ahead and fit everything into his schedule. He is very energetic while working through his daily schedule. In anticipation of the tasks that need to be done in the next couple of days he gives instructions that will guarantee things will go smoothly.

The fish emerges...
When the awful sound of the alarm clock reaches his ears the fish opens his eyes deeply annoyed. He wonders where he is and what time it is. Once he starts to consciously perceive his surroundings he discovers he’s in his own bedroom and the sun is shining. That’s when he comes to the conclusion that the day has begun and that he needs to get up. It’s tough for him to wake up properly, in spite of the beautiful weather he has trouble getting out of bed. What was the schedule again for today? No idea! He looks for his diary, it should be here somewhere and is startled by his child who jumps into him, hugs him and covers his face with kisses. He tells the kid he’s looking for his diary, to which the child answers: ‘But Dad, what do you need your diary for, it’s Sunday?’ ×