The Mice Who Wanted to Climb a Hill
How to get what you want?
“How do I get or achieve what I want in life?” I asked.
“Have you heard of the story of the mice that wanted to climb the hill?”
I shook my head.
“A group of mice lived at the base of the hill. They all wanted to climb the hill, most of the conversations they had were about climbing the hill. Many tried, but as soon as a mouse would go halfway up, the other mice would start telling him to turn back, some in form of jeering, others told him it was a waste of effort and some out of concern of him getting hurt in the effort. As a result, all those who tried would turn back. One day a mouse started climbing the hill, as usual the other mice told him to turn back, but he kept going and ended up climbing the hill.
Why do you think the words of the other mice didn’t affect him and he made it to the top of the hill?”
“Because he ignored the other mice?” I asked.
“No, he was deaf, he couldn’t hear them”
This simple story had a profound effect on me. No matter how hard we try we cannot nullify the influence of other people’s opinions completely (*You might want to keep some peoples opinions, because of the value they provide, but we need to be selective with whose opinion we wish to listen to). Also, the greatest influence holding us back is that of our mind. Though damaging our eardrums to block out other people is not the greatest ideas, especially because the greatest enemy lives within us. The constant bombardment is often disguised as a ‘positive influence,’ which it might be to develop a false ego, but not to get the objective truth. What we need to do is bring back a skill which most of us (I surely did) possessed as a kid, we heard but did not listen. If you are not sure of your skill level, ask your parents, they will give you an extremely high score.
This is not easy, because instinctively we want to maintain a good reputation and put on that good girl or good boy mask. This instinct kicks in harder when we are around people we want to impress. Good news, the more you learn to ignore this instinct and block out other people’s opinions. Start with little things like being open about your opinions, asking questions in class and talking to people you are afraid of talking to.
What about the opinions we should let in? I think we should be extremely selective about whose opinions we should listen to, choose a couple of people, maybe one for each aspect of life, but block out the rest. You might miss out on some good opinions, but will be saved from thousands that will pull you back.
Time to go deaf!
-Sartha
