Blog Post: A Cow’s Secret

Have you heard the saying “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”? I’ve been talking to some cows and they feel like they have been targeted and blamed for our human mistakes. One cow, I’ll call Jersey girl (withholding names to protect the innocent), told me her experience with the grass and fence thing. For months, years, Jersey girl’s heart (and stomach) longed to cross the fence because the grass on the other side was lush, thick, tasty green grass. Jersey girl was determined and did everything in her power to finally break the fence and get to the other side. Oh yes, the grass was everything she thought it would be but then the farmer showed up! The farmer yelled at her, chased her, and even used the cattle prod to get her back to the other side of the fence, the side that didn’t have green grass. This became a repeated cycle until one day Jersey girl looked past the green grass and saw much more. Jersey girl saw grass, water, shelter and no fence! Pretty much everything she longed for. Now Jersey girl knew exactly what she wanted, how to get there and finally made it to the other side. But she didn’t stop to eat; she kept running toward her new horizon, leaving the other unhappy cows.

So what does that have to do with humans? So often people are not satisfied with their jobs and are tempted by the jobs on the other side of the fence. They finally work up their courage to give their notice and take that leap of faith. They start their new job thinking it will be perfect, only to learn it wasn’t what they thought it would be. Jersey girl knew her destiny. Jersey girl made a plan and worked the plan. Do you know you’re destiny? Do you know you’re talents? What’s burning in your heart that you feel the need to do?

The job on the other side of the fence can be what you want it to be but it’s all up to you. You get out of life what you put into it. Stay in a rut and complain like the other cows or be a Jersey girl and go after what you want. BUT it won’t work unless you resolve the issues with your current job and are very clear at the interview for your next job. It’s that big word called “communication”. An employer doesn’t have a crystal ball or can read your mind. Do your homework and make sure it’s a company you want to work for. At your interview make it clear why you want to work there, what you expect your job to be, where you want to be in two years, five years, ten years, etc. Are you taking charge of your career or are you letting your employer do that? Employment works both ways; it’s not a one way street. You and your employer get out of it exactly what ya’ll put into it. Life’s too short and you don’t want to be one of those elderly folks sitting on the porch saying “I wish I would have…..” I’m not saying rush out and be a fool. I am saying only you can make yourself happy, not a job. A job should compliment what you already are, so go shine!