Often we limit ourselves before we ever reach our limits. When we can grab a brilliant star, instead we choose to stand firmly on the ground, thinking about what’s more “realistic.” And, in that realism, we watch others achieve great heights, soaring brilliantly in the heavens of life, not realizing that that could be us—you.
There is a fable about an eagle who thought that he was a chicken because he was raised with chickens. So he walked like one, clucked like one, pecked like one. Then one day he looked up and saw this majestic bird high up in the cloudless blue sky and asked one of his chicken friends, “What is that?” His friend replied, “Oh, that’s an eagle, the mightiest of birds.” And the eagle said, “Why I wish I could be one of those.” Then he returned to pecking the ground.
Saying that we can’t do this or that because we aren’t smart enough, good enough, rich enough is like an eagle acting like a chicken because he thinks he is one. As you peck away in your life, it’s easy to forget this: You are an eagle. You are a mightiest of birds who has been taught you are a chicken. But that is not you. You are fierce. You are powerful. You are not tame. You were never meant to cluck your life away, occasionally jumping up and down from earth, barely pulling yourself from gravity’s grip. You were meant to break free and pierce the clouds.
But learning to fly isn’t easy, even for an eagle. They flap their wings to strengthen them. They balance on various branches hopping from one to another maybe even stumbling here or there, presumably unsure of themselves, fighting back fear and uncertainty. But they keep trying. They continue flapping, getting stronger, smarter and eventually they achieve some lift off, until one day they leap and start flying.
That’s what you must do. You need to try that new thing, that scary thing, that thing you want to do but are really scared of failing at thing; yes, that’s exactly what needs doing. Do it progressively. It won’t be instantaneous, but it can be eventual.
The only thing holding you back is you. Your fears, the stories you tell yourself, your percieved limits, your clucking, the fact that you see yourself as a chicken. But you are not that.
Think like an eagle.
And you will soar
John Pa 