Insights 5: Which “wolf” dominates your life?

An old Cherokee story

An elder tells his grandson:

“Every choice in life is a battle between two wolves inside us. One represents anger, envy, greed, fear, lies, insecurity and ego. The other, peace, love, compassion, kindness, humility and positivity. They compete for supremacy.” 

“Which wolf wins?” asks the grandson 

“The one you feed answers the elder.”

Context for reflection:

A monk giving a teaching using this story is asked: “how do we feed them?”

The monk replied: “By what we read and hear. By what occupies our time. By where we focus our energy and attention.”

The point is clear, the reality of our mind is built through what goes into our mind, what we allow to influence us, which in turn impacts on how we behave and spend time. 

Often circumstances get under our skin, “causing” us to behave like the first wolf. Steven Covey, in his writings, notes that we may experience up to 20 frustrations before we get to the office (prior to remote working ???).  Many of these frustrations can set one off and raise our “temperature”, yet we have no control over these events. We are or become a function of how we respond to stimuli. As Covey encourages, we should seek to grow our “Circle of Influence”, such that the “Circle of Concern” is diminished. Focus on where we can make a positive contribution and continually seek to expand these as a proactive focus on a positive life.

A question or two for you:

• How often does the first wolf hijack your day?

• How can you feed the second wolf?

Drafted in all humility as I continue my journey of discovery. It is indeed challenging, with so much to remember and learn.

Andrew Pons

References: 

Shetty, J, Think like a monk, HarperCollins Publishers, 2020 

Covey, S, Seven Habits of highly effective people, Simon Schuster Publishers, 1994

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