You may be familiar with the old Cherokee who was teaching his grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is a bad wolf. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is a good wolf. He is joy, peace, love, hope, gratitude, humility, kindness, courage, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about this for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”
That brings us to two choices:
- Which wolf do we want to feed?
- How can we feed that wolf?
2020 has certainly provided lots of opportunities to feed the bad wolf. These opportunities show up whether we want them to or not. We need to be more intentional if we want to feed the good wolf. Lately, my good wolf is being fed by the power of inspiration.
Inspiration happens when something meaningful in us is awakened by words, beliefs, or actions of another, when a spirit in us is moved to act in a significant way. I am personally inspired by Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and by my grandfather at the age of 17 leaving his family in Italy and coming to America by himself. Inspiration often motivates us to move outside our comfort zone.
Last week I was inspired by the dedication and commitment of 150 educators who attended our Top 20 Training Social-Emotional Learning session. Recently, I have also been inspired by Steve Hartman’s Kindness 101 class. If you are looking for a dose of inspiration, google: Steve Hartman Kindness 101 Courage. Steve interviews four people who moved outside their comfort zone. If you don’t want to watch the entire 18 minutes, allow yourself to be inspired by the boy on the swim team who cannot swim (from minute 5:00 to 10:50) or the elderly veteran who cannot read (from minute 13:50 to 18:00).
Young people need to be inspired by parents, teachers, coaches, and leaders who have fed their good wolf.
During the next week, let’s feed our good wolf. Identify someone who has inspired you and someone who needs to be inspired. Then be an inspiration.
Best wishes from our Top 20 Team…Willow, Kevin, and Tom…who have frequently fed my good wolf.
Paul Bernabei, Director
Top 20 Training
paul@top20training
651-470-3827
