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Be a Bison, Not a Cow

Estimated reading time: < 1 minute

In his book, Take the Stairs, Rory Vaden talks about an interesting observation he made about cows and bison during his childhood in Colorado.

When a storm rolled in and started raining on the animals, the cows would run away from the storm, trying to avoid the rain. But because the storm was blowing in the very direction they were running, the cows would get rained on for longer than if they’d just stood still. The bison, meanwhile, would run into the storm. And because the storm was heading in the opposite direction, they would quickly run through it and escape the downpour.1

What we’re really talking about, of course, is procrastination.

If you try to avoid things because they are unpleasant or difficult, you create for yourself more unpleasantness and difficulty. While you’re putting off the work in order to avoid paying the cost of doing it, you pay the thinking cost over and over again. You suffer the dread, anxiety, and guilt that always accompany procrastination. And, in the end, you’ll still have to get rained on.

You’re better off just getting it over with. You’re better off facing life head-on. You’re better off as a bison.

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1 Vaden, Rory. Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success. Perigee Books, 2012.

P.S. Read my complete guide to overcoming procrastination.

Ready to transform your life?

Regular doses of wisdom will help! Every other week, I publish an article with actionable tips and strategies that you can use immediately to make your life better.

And to kick things off, I’ll send you the 5 most important self-improvement habits to become healthier, happier, and more successful.