Last year on my bike path, I came across the work of a busy beaver. Adjacent to the DuPage River, a toothy rodent had chewed a tree trunk  down to a nub. In a short period of time, the tree would fall.

I’m no beaverologist, so I have no idea how a beaver starts to take down a tree. I imagine the chewing starts with a tilt of its head like it’s going in for a kiss. And then instead of puckering up, it opens it mouth and clamps down with those impressive incisors.

All along the trail, I saw the remains of several tree trunks, some of them with quite an impressive girth. Apparently, beavers can be quite tenacious when making a dam or getting a meal.

About what things can you be described as tenacious or an eager beaver?

Maybe it’s your spouse or children. Perhaps a job. Maybe it’s material things. Some people are tenacious about planning for the future, building for an early and happy retirement. Others have a live now, pay later philosophy where they are most active in their pursuit of pleasure today.

Whatever it is you pursue defines you. A beaver is defined by what it does–build dams–and what it lives on–trees.

So, what defines you?