Long time ago; someone gifted two eaglets (baby eagles) to a King. The breed of eaglets was very good and the King had never seen such magnificent eaglets before. The king was very pleased with the gift & decided to hire an experienced caretaker for them.
After some time King saw that both of them were quite big and now they are looking fantastic than earlier. The King said to the man taking care of the eagles, “I want to see their flight. You signal them to fly in the sky . The man did the same. Both eagles started fluttering as soon as they saw the signal. But where one eagle was touching the heights of the sky, the other flew for some seconds and returned to the branch where it was earlier sitting. The same branch from where he started flying. After seeing this , the king felt something strange. He became curious to know the reason of the contrasting behavior of eagles . King asked the caretaker, “What’s the matter where an eagle is flying so well, the other one is not trying to fly?” The caretaker replied, “Yes, this is the problem from the beginning with this eagle, he does not leave this branch.” Both the eagles were adorable to King, and he desperately wanted to see the second eagle too flying high in the sky. Next day he announced in the whole state that the person who will manage to fly higher this eagle will be rewarded with heavy prizes. After announcement, many intellectual and knowledgeable persons came and tried to apply the knowledge they had to make the eagle fly high. But no one was successful. Even after the passage of couple of weeks, there was no improvement in the eagle. He used to fly a little bit and put it back and sit down. The king too lost hope and almost gave up.
Then one day something strange happened, the king saw that both of them were flying high in the sky. He did not believe on his eyes and immediately called the caretaker. The caretaker informed the King, ” Yes, the second eagle is also flying high in the sky. One man has been successful in making the second eagle fly high.” The King asked the care taker to bring the person who had done this feat. Next day, he was then brought before the king where the king was eagerly waiting with the promised prize. The king came to know during interactions that the man was a simple farmer. He said, ” I simply cut the branch. The branch on which he had an habit of sitting . After offering the gold currencies in his reward, the king said, “I am very pleased with you; just tell me how did you do this which the great scholars and highly qualified people could not do.” The farmer said ” Your highness, I am a simple farmer, I don’t have knowledge like scholars, I just simply cut down the branch , on which the eagle had an habit of sitting. As there was no branch , he had no option but to fly. And which he did very well.”
Just as the eagle didn’t realize that he could actually fly so high and always liked to remain on the branch. We also sometimes underestimate ourselves and don’t realize our true potential. In life, we become habituated of doing certain things. We keep doing what we are doing and we forget about our high flying capacity. We are all made to fly high in life. But like eagle we also prefer to remain on the branch of our comfort zone. After the farmer had cut the branch, the eagle had no option but to come out of his comfort zone and start working. Only then he realized its true potential. Therefore to fly high in life and unlock our true potential, it is necessary that we cut the branch of comfort zone which is becoming a hindrance in success. Great things in life are only achieved out of the comfort zone.
The story also gives a powerful message that sometimes we can begin our “flight” with some gentle training (like happened in the case of first eagle). Other times, we need something much more drastic – like our branch cut off, so that we have no other choice but to flap our wings and fly (like happened in the case of second eagle)!
Just like a ship is not made for the harbor and the eagle is not designed to sit on the branch, you and I weren’t created for a mediocre life. You are made to Fly High in life.
There is more to life than to settle for the familiar, the mundane, the comfort zones or the safe zones.
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
