Val Okafor: Tales of Love and Procrastination

I heard a random story a long time ago about a young man who wanted to marry the only beautiful daughter of a farmer. He went to the farmer to ask for permission to marry his daughter. The farmer looked at him and said, “I will allow you to marry my daughter but you have to fulfill one condition. Son, go out and stand in the field. I’m going to release three bulls one at a time and you have to grab the tail of any of the three bulls. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, then you can marry my daughter.”

‘Just that? This must be very easy’, thought the man. He happily went to the field and stood there waiting for the bulls to be released. The barn door opened and then came out one of the biggest bulls he had ever seen.

‘I cannot just end my life like that’, he thought. So he went to the other side and let the bull pass through.

Again, the barn opened for the second bull. This one was bigger and even fiercer than the previous bull. ‘This man wants to kill me,’ he thought to himself again. He assumed the last one would be better and again ran to the other side to let the bull pass.

Now the door opened for the third bull. The guy braced himself, smiling. The third one was the weakest bull he’d ever seen so he positioned himself and was all set to take on the bull and grab his tail. But as the bull came running by, he was shocked to find out that the bull had no tail. And that was how he lost the chance to marry the farmer’s beautiful daughter.

Then the farmer turned to him and said, “Don’t leave to tomorrow things you can achieve today. Your breakthrough was just an action away from you, but you missed it twice. I’m sorry, you can’t have my daughter.”

Lessons on procrastination you can learn from this story:

• Don’t allow opportunities to pass you by. Each time an opportunity comes your way, especially those in line with your purpose and dreams, don’t give another thought before you grab it.
• Life is in stages. Did you see the way the farmer released the bulls? From simple to complex. A task you think is complex may not really be complex in the end. Like it is said, “a bird at hand is worth more than ten thousand others in the bush.”
• There is more to everything than meets the eyes. Learn to judge beyond what your eyes can see. The eyes can be deceptive. The weakest bull, which seemed as his opportunity bag turned out to be the one full of disappointments.
• There is always an opportunity available to those with the third eye and right mind. The young man would have sought another opportunity to make his dreams come true. Don’t close your eyes to other alternatives, they could be of help to you in bringing your dreams to reality. Everything worthwhile has a price tag. It is not negotiable, though it varies. There is always a price to pay. Pay your price to earn your prize.
• If it’s conceivable, it’s achievable. For the farmer to tell him to catch the tail of one bull, it means that it was something achievable. Your dreams are valid and achievable. That he didn’t achieve it does not mean that it wasn’t possible; he just had a wrong attitude.
• Good things don’t come your way because of your physical features. Our prince charming young man wasn’t set to leave his comfort zone and pay the price. Perhaps, he thought that the farmer would have considered his looks and maybe wealth and offered his daughter. You work hard to attract what you want.
• Approach everything with the same zest and enthusiasm. Yes! You shouldn’t reduce your zest and enthusiasm before you start. What you’re working on should give you the permission to do so, if there is a need.

***

Featured image: Dreamstime