How Cock Fighting Taught Me Emotional Intelligence
Last month I was grateful to re-connect with an old acquaintance who shared an entire reading list of his favorite influential works. Over the course of five hours I listened to him bestow memorable takeaways, one of them a Taoist tale of a king's cock.
THERE once was a king who wanted to have the best fighting rooster in the land. To ensure the rooster could beat any foe, the king sent him to a trainer. After a few weeks, the king returned to assess the progress of his rooster. With just one confrontational look from another rooster, the king's rooster would kill him immediately. The king was so overjoyed he thanked the trainer and exclaimed, "He is ready to fight!" The trainer replied that he was not yet ready.
Weeks later the king returned. Not noticing the looks from other roosters, the king's rooster barely raised his neck feathers and wings. But when one rooster began to peck and squawk at the king's rooster, the king's rooster killed him immediately. The king was initially worried his rooster was losing his edge but sighed with relief and proclaimed that his rooster must be ready to fight. The trainer said that he was still not ready.
On the king's third return, his rooster acted like a tame and docile chick. The king was furious that the trainer had ruined his prize fighting fowl. But the trainer calmly replied, "Not at all, see how calm and confident he stands, others see him and run away with respect. Now he is ready.".
Emotional intelligence is control in determining the timing of your reaction and not allowing your feelings to be provoked or instigated for you.
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else, you are the one who gets burned -Buddha
The following is a common misquoted variation of the above:
Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die -Buddha
Note: It should go without saying that I do not condone, nor support, any type of animal cruelty or violence for sheer entertainment (e.g. bullfighting, rooster fighting, dog fighting). This story is a re-telling of an actual Taoist tale for educational and informational purposes only.