Are You A Sheep Or A Wolf?

“Are you a sheep or a wolf?” Such an emotive way to frame this very important question. Automatically you know the answer, of course. We all do. I mean, who wants, really, to be a sheep, right? The subtext here is that we all know the probability of survival and happiness of a sheep is pretty slim. Virtually none. Zero.

So, really by framing the question in that context what we have truly done is bounded the options available to those making the choice. The choice presented is a non-starter as there is only one true viable option and anyone with half a mind will choose to be a wolf.

Morgan Freeman’s character, Sloan, delivers the over-the-top speech in this clip:

https://clip.cafe/wanted-2008/coasting-through-a-miserable-existence/

The question he’s really asking is: Are you truly responsible for your life? Are you in charge of the direction it has taken? Are you in control of the choices you make and the impact they have? Or … are you simply drifting with the tide? Responding to what is presented to you by circumstances and the actions of those around you?

Such a question, of course, would require a more deeply thought-through answer. While we all want to feel in control of our life and the direction it has we also all want to have it easy. Struggling all the time is a struggle (please forgive the tautology). It saps our energy, drains our focus and, ultimately, demotivates us.

We then want to do as little as possible.

This realization changes the nature of the question Sloan asks of Wesley. It’s not about caged lions and the key to unleash them. It is more about what is stopping you from being the best version of you?

Each question sweeps back a curtain. Can you now truly visualize a better version of you than what you currently have? Can you honestly see what that person is like, how they feel, what they think? If you can’t (and a lot of people can’t) then you need to start from there.

Quote from: Intentional: How to Live, Love, Work and Play Meaningfully

It’s true that when you don’t know where you’re going all roads will get you there. That’s because in that context your destination has no meaning. Any place is interchangeable with any other. To know where you’re going you need to know what you want. You know what you want only when you know who you are. You know who you are by understanding what is fundamentally important to you and what you value the most.

Wanted , which is where the clip with Morgan Freeman’s delivery is taken from, is a high-octane, eye-candy type of storyline that wants you to park your brain at home, sit back and enjoy the show. It’s not really meant to take you into deep philosophical waters, nor is it really intended to make you introspective. Yet, its premise is inescapable maybe because Morgan Freeman’s gravely-toned delivery is so compelling.

I covered some of this in Intentional: How to Live, Love, Work and Play Meaningfully. So, what are you a sheep or a wolf? Someone who drifts along, struggling each time to keep your head above the current. Or, are you someone who understands what to do. Knows when to do it. And goes ahead and does it.

Let me know.