The Young Cheetah – The Voices That Influence Us

A young cheetah had just left home and was setting out to hunt for the first time.

As he prowled the savannah looking for potential prey, a hyena saw him and asked what he was doing.

“I’m going hunting,” the cheetah said proudly.

“What? You?” the hyena sneered, “You’re too small and inexperienced, you’ll never catch anything!”

Demoralised, the young cheetah wandered around aimlessly for the rest of the day without success and went hungry.

The next morning, the cheetah headed out to hunt again, hoping that he would be more successful this time, but not overly optimistic.

As he strolled around, a wise old baboon saw him and asked what he was doing.

“I’m going hunting,” the cheetah said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Awesome!” said the baboon, “With your speed and strength, you should be successful in no time. Good luck.”

Feeling encouraged and empowered by the words of the baboon, the young cheetah went out and managed to catch a young gazelle for his lunch.

He wasn’t a better hunter on the second day, but the positive words gave him the confidence and clear mind required to act with boldness so that he could achieve his goal.

The reality is, that just like for the cheetah, the voices that speak into our lives influence us.

If you are constantly listening to negative voices telling you that you can’t do something, it will hamper your efforts.

Conversely, if you are fortunate enough to have positive, encouraging people speaking into your life, it can spur you on to greater heights.

So watch out for who you surround yourself with and make sure that you have more than a few people in your life who believe in you and know what you are capable of.