Introduction
[…] The story of the cow is a tale about getting rid of the bad habits, excuses, limiting attitudes, and false beliefs that keep people bound to mediocrity. I’ve always thought that the true enemy of success isn’t failure, as some may think, but mediocrity¬—¬the idea that we can “just get by.”
Failures can be stepping¬-¬stones on our way to a successful life. They give us the opportunity to learn important lessons. If it weren’t for those failures, we might not ever become aware of habits we need to change or patterns we must correct in order to move forward. It takes adversity to create success.
Mediocrity, on the other hand, doesn’t teach any lessons. There is nothing to be learned. In fact, when we settle for an average existence, the learning process is halted completely. That is why I’m so vehement about avoiding mediocrity at all cost. I know some people try to avoid failure like the plague because they’ve been taught to be afraid of it. But I believe our time is much better spent eliminating all the excuses and false beliefs that breed mediocrity than trying to prevent or circumvent any possible failures in our lives.
The timeless metaphor of the cow illustrates both the devastating effects of seemingly harmless ideas that nest in our minds, as well as the profound changes we can expect when we finally decide to do away with our excuses.
I have the deepest hope that each reader will find his or her own lessons within the lines of this story. However, if at the end you discover that you haven’t learned a thing, then, well. . . that may be your cow!
Chapter 1
Once upon a time, a wise and experienced teacher wanted to instruct one of his pupils on the secrets to living a happy and prosperous life. Knowing of the many unnecessary hurdles and difficulties most people face in their search for happiness, he thought the first lesson should be to explain why so many people live average and ordinary lives.
After all, thought the old man, too many men and women seem incapable of overcoming the obstacles that hinder their success and end up living unfulfilled and barely tolerable lives. The teacher knew that in order for the young man to comprehend this very important lesson, he would have to witness for himself what happens when we allow mediocrity to rule our lives.
To teach these important lessons, he decided to embark on a trip with his student to one of the most impoverished villages in their province. Misery and desolation prevailed throughout the region, and its inhabitants seemed to have resigned themselves to their lot in life.
Soon after they arrived, the teacher asked the young man to help him look for the poorest home in the area. That would be their refuge for the night […]
[…] The young man was astounded by the story. Finally he understood the lesson that his beloved teacher had meant to impart. It was suddenly obvious that the death of the cow had not, in fact, been the end of them, as he had feared, but the beginning of a new life full of better opportunities.
The man invited them to stay the night and they gladly accepted. The next morning, they bid farewell to him and his family and resumed their journey. The teacher, who had remained relatively quiet throughout most of the stay, asked his pupil, who was still amazed by what he had heard and witnessed, “Do you think this family would have accomplished everything they did during this past year if they still had their cow?”
“Probably not,” the young man replied without hesitation.
“Now do you understand? The cow that they so cherished as their prized possession was in fact a shackle that kept them tied to a life of poverty and mediocrity. They were comforted by the idea that the cow would keep them from ruin. But it wasn’t until they lost that false security that they were forced to look in a new direction.”
“In other words,” said the student, “the cow, which their neighbors saw as a blessing, gave them the feeling that they weren’t living in absolute poverty, when in fact, they were living in complete misery.”
“Exactly,” replied the old teacher. “That’s what happens when you convince yourself that what little you have is more than enough. That thought alone becomes a heavy chain that prevents you from looking for something better. Complacency begins to rule your life. You learn to accept your circumstances in spite of being dissatisfied with them. You know you aren’t happy with where you are in life, but you aren’t completely miserable either. You’re frustrated with the life you’ve been dealt but not disturbed enough to do something about it. Can you see how tragic that is?
“When you have a job that you dislike, one that won’t even allow you to meet your most basic needs and doesn’t provide you with any personal satisfaction or the life that you really want, the decision to quit and find a better job is a fairly easy one to make. But when this job you dislike allows you to pay your debts, survive, and even enjoy a few minor comforts, it is too easy to fall into the trap of being satisfied for at least having something. After all, you rationalize, some people would be grateful to have that job.
“Like the cow, this attitude will always hold you back. Unless you get rid of it, you will never be able to experience anything different from what you’ve always known. You’ll be condemned to being a lifelong victim of the limitations that you’ve imposed on your own existence. It’s almost as if you had decided to blindfold yourself at the starting line and pray for the best.”
The student listened with amazement. He was fascinated by his teacher’s observations and began to more fully comprehend them. “We all have cows in our lives. We carry around the heavy burden of our false beliefs, our excuses, fears, and justifications. Tragically, all of these self¬-¬imposed limitations keep us tied to a life of mediocrity.”
“Not only that,” added the old man, “many people stubbornly hold on to pretexts for why they aren’t living the lives they always dreamed of living. They make up almost credible excuses to explain themselves to others, and then go on living lives of inner turmoil when they realize that those explanations, while perhaps convincing to others, are useless to them.”
“What a great lesson,” reflected the young man, immediately turning his thoughts to his own cows.
On the journey home, he carefully considered all the limitations he had acquired throughout his life. He committed to eliminating all those beliefs that had tied him to an average and mediocre existence and had prevented him from reaching his true potential.
Undoubtedly, he thought, that day marked the beginning of a new life, a cow¬-¬free existence.
