Breaking the Rules: Throw the Cow Over the Cliff
Monday, January 4th, 2010Since so many of my coaching clients have resonated with a story that I’ve called “throw your sacred cow over the cliff,” I ‘m giving it a reprise here as a creative way to think about this new year if you break the rules!
Here is the story:
A wise man was walking with his student and conversing about the importance of visiting new places and meeting new people, and the knowledge one can gain from these experiences. As they are walking they came upon a very poor area, and passed a rundown house where they saw a couple with their three children.
All five were dressed with torn clothes and they had no shoes. The house was neglected and had a few pieces of very broken furniture. The wise man approached the father and inquired as to how he manged to survive in this impoverished area where there was no commerce or work opportunity. The man answered that the family owned a small cow that produced some milk; some of which they traded in the nearby town for other food, and the rest they used to make some cheese and yogurt for themselves. That is how they survived. The wise man thanked him for his honesty, looked around for a few minutes, and went on his way.
As they walked on the wise man told his student that he must go back, find the cow, and throw her over the abyss. The student was shocked and tried to convince his teacher that this would be a mistake, that it would surely destroy the poor family. The wise man listened and then walked away leaving his student behind. Being faithful, the student went back and fulfilled his teacher’s wish, but the picture of the cow falling down the abyss kept torturing him.
The student was never able to completely forget the incident. A few years later he decided to go back and see if there was any way he could help the family, or possibly repay them for the suffering he had caused. As he approached the area he immediately noticed a change, every thing looked nice and well kept. He became very depressed and was sure that the family, after losing their one cow, had been forced from their house and land just to survive. As he continued walking he saw a new house in place of the old one, and as he approached the house he saw a vaguely familiar man standing in the doorway.
He inquired after the poor family, with the single cow, that used to live there but he was told that the same family still lived there. He then asked how they had managed to pull out of such dire poverty and become successful. The man smiled and told him that a few years before their only cow had suddenly disappeared and that initially they were in shock; but as a result they had to develop new skills and find new ways to survive. The man admitted that the loss of the cow had been the best thing that ever happened to the family.
–Author unknown; story circulated on the web.
What sacred cow can you throw over the cliff to expend what is possible for you in the coming year?
Leave a comment and let us know!
Lea Belair is a partner in the Coaching Center of Vermont, Inc.; a principal in Vital Business (A Division of the Coaching Center of Vermont); a leader in the coaching profession, and author of Walk on Water: How to Make Change Easier.