The Sheepdog and the Wolf

We all have two conflicting forces within us. Each of us has a sheepdog that is compassionate and protective. It looks to serve others but also wants what is best for you, and it is willing to make sacrifices to accomplish that. The sheepdog urges you to take the narrow road and the uphill path.

Then there’s the wolf. The wolf is a coward and predator. It is selfish and short-sighted. Not only is it unconcerned with others, it will give up your long-term gain as well for what is easiest in the moment. The wolf orders you to take the easy road, the comfortable path.

Every day these two battle against one another to be the alpha – to be in charge and to be dominant over your decisions. They are both strong, but over time, either can be strengthened or weakened depending on how much they are fed. If you feed the sheepdog, it gets stronger and all its attributes are magnified. However, if you feed the wolf, the sheepdog is weakened and the wolf instead grows powerful and more dominant. Every action and choice you make feeds one or the other.

When you hit the snooze button, skip your workout or cheat on your diet, you feed the wolf. When you avoid a necessary but difficult conversation or tell someone what you think they want to hear instead of what they need to know, you feed the wolf. When you act out of fear or selfishness, the wolf gets stronger. Every time you choose what’s easy instead of what’s right, the wolf gets a meal and the sheepdog starves.

But when you are willing to be disciplined and act out of sacrifice to serve others, the sheepdog is fed. When you choose to go against the flow and work past your fear to do what’s right, you feed the sheepdog. When you choose to follow the narrow, uphill path, you steal a meal from the wolf and give it to the sheepdog. When you push through doubt and uncertainty to grow and progress, the sheepdog gains power as well.

Your actions never happen in a vacuum. Positive or negative, the decisions you make build momentum going forward. Feed the sheepdog and the wolf starves. It won’t happen overnight, but eventually the wolf weakens, and has less influence on you, making the right decisions clearer. The wolf never dies, but you can take away much of his bite. Which one are you feeding?

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