T h e L a w O f T h e F a r m
“The law of the farm” as illustrated by Stephen Covey from his book “First Things First – chapter 3: To live, to love, to learn, to leave a Legacy”
“One of the best ways to understand how these extrinsic realities govern is to consider the Law of the Farm. In agriculture, we can easily see and agree that natural laws and principles govern the work and determine the harvest. But in social and corporate cultures, we somehow think we can dismiss natural processes, cheat the system, and still win the day. And there’s a great deal of evidence that seems to support that belief.
For example, did you ever “cram” in school – goof off during the semester, then spend all night before the big test trying to cram a semester’s worth of learning into your head?
Stephen: I’m ashamed to admit it, but I crammed my way through undergraduate school, thinking I was really clever. I learned to psych out the system, to figure out what the teacher wanted. “How does she grade, mostly on lectures? Great! I don’t have to worry about reading the textbook. What about this other class? We have to read the book? Okay, where are the Cliff Notes so I can get a quick summary instead?” I wanted the grade, but I didn’t want it to crimp my lifestyle.
Then I got into graduate work, a different league altogether. I spent my first three months trying to cram to make up for four years of undergraduate cramming, and I wound up in the hospital with ulcerated colitis. I was trying to force the natural processes, and I found out that, long term, you simply can’t do it. I spent years trying to compensate for the foolishness of getting myself into a value system that was not tied to principles at all.
Can you imagine “cramming” on the farm? Can you imagine forgetting to plant in the spring, flaking out all summer, and hitting it hard in the fall-and expecting to get a bountiful harvest overnight? Cramming doesn’t work in a natural system, like a farm. That’s the fundamental difference between a social and a natural system. A social system is based on values; a natural system is based on principles. In the short term, cramming may appear to work in a social system. You can go for the “quick fixes” and techniques with apparent success.
But in the long run, the Law of the Farm governs in all arenas of life. How many of us wish now we hadn’t crammed in school? We got the degree, but we didn’t get the education. We eventually find out there’s a difference between succeeding in the social system of school and succeeding in the development of the mind-the ability to think analytically, creatively, at deep levels of abstraction, the ability to communicate orally and in writing, to cross borders, to rise above outmoded practices and solve problems in newer, better ways.
What about character? Can you “cram” and suddenly become a person of integrity, courage, or compassion? Or physical health? Can you overcome years of a potato chip, chocolate-cake, no-exercise lifestyle by spending the night before the marathon working out at the health spa?
What about a marriage? Whether it’s governed by the Law of School or Law of the Farm depends on how long you want it to last. Many people who marry don’t want to change their lifestyle at all. They’re married singles. They don’t take the time to nurture seeds of shared vision, selflessness, caring, tenderness, and consideration, yet they’re surprised at the harvest of weeds. The social system quick fixes and personality ethic techniques they try to install to solve the problem simply don’t work. These “solutions” can’t take the place of seasons of planting, cultivating, and caring.
What about relationships with children? We can take the shortcuts-we’re bigger, smarter, we have the authority. We can talk down, threaten, and impose our will. We can try to shift the responsibility of training them to schools, churches, or day-care centers. But over time, will these shortcuts develop responsible, caring and wise adults empowered to make effective decisions and live happy lives? Will they result in rich, rewarding relationships for us with those who have the potential to be our closest friends?
In the short run, we may be able to go for the “quick fix” with apparent success. We can make impressions; we can put on the charm. We can learn manipulative techniques-what lever to pull, what button to push to get the desired reaction. But long-term, the Law of the Farm governs in all areas of life. And there’s no way to fake the harvest. As Dr. Sidney Bremer observed in his book, Spirit of Apollo:
Nature is evenly balanced. We cannot disturb her equilibrium, for we know that the law of Cause and Effect is the unerring and inexorable law of nature; but we do fail to find our own equilibrium as nations and as individuals, because we have not yet learned that the same law works as inexorably in human life and in society as in nature-that what we sow, we must inevitably reap.
ILLUSION VERSUS REALITY
The problems in life come when we’re sowing one thing and expecting to reap something entirely different.
Many of our fundamental paradigms and the processes and habits that grow out of them will never produce the results we’ve been led to expect they will. These paradigms-created by people looking for shortcuts, advertising, program-of the month training, and seventy years of personality ethic success literature-are fundamentally based on the quick-fix illusion. This not only affects our awareness of our fundamental needs but also the way we attempt to fulfill them.”
“One of the best ways to understand how these extrinsic realities govern is to consider the Law of the Farm. In agriculture, we can easily see and agree that natural laws and principles govern the work and determine the harvest. But in social and corporate cultures, we somehow think we can dismiss natural processes, cheat the system, and still win the day. And there’s a great deal of evidence that seems to support that belief.
For example, did you ever “cram” in school – goof off during the semester, then spend all night before the big test trying to cram a semester’s worth of learning into your head?
Stephen: I’m ashamed to admit it, but I crammed my way through undergraduate school, thinking I was really clever. I learned to psych out the system, to figure out what the teacher wanted. “How does she grade, mostly on lectures? Great! I don’t have to worry about reading the textbook. What about this other class? We have to read the book? Okay, where are the Cliff Notes so I can get a quick summary instead?” I wanted the grade, but I didn’t want it to crimp my lifestyle.
Then I got into graduate work, a different league altogether. I spent my first three months trying to cram to make up for four years of undergraduate cramming, and I wound up in the hospital with ulcerated colitis. I was trying to force the natural processes, and I found out that, long term, you simply can’t do it. I spent years trying to compensate for the foolishness of getting myself into a value system that was not tied to principles at all.
Can you imagine “cramming” on the farm? Can you imagine forgetting to plant in the spring, flaking out all summer, and hitting it hard in the fall-and expecting to get a bountiful harvest overnight? Cramming doesn’t work in a natural system, like a farm. That’s the fundamental difference between a social and a natural system. A social system is based on values; a natural system is based on principles. In the short term, cramming may appear to work in a social system. You can go for the “quick fixes” and techniques with apparent success.
But in the long run, the Law of the Farm governs in all arenas of life. How many of us wish now we hadn’t crammed in school? We got the degree, but we didn’t get the education. We eventually find out there’s a difference between succeeding in the social system of school and succeeding in the development of the mind-the ability to think analytically, creatively, at deep levels of abstraction, the ability to communicate orally and in writing, to cross borders, to rise above outmoded practices and solve problems in newer, better ways.
What about character? Can you “cram” and suddenly become a person of integrity, courage, or compassion? Or physical health? Can you overcome years of a potato chip, chocolate-cake, no-exercise lifestyle by spending the night before the marathon working out at the health spa?
What about a marriage? Whether it’s governed by the Law of School or Law of the Farm depends on how long you want it to last. Many people who marry don’t want to change their lifestyle at all. They’re married singles. They don’t take the time to nurture seeds of shared vision, selflessness, caring, tenderness, and consideration, yet they’re surprised at the harvest of weeds. The social system quick fixes and personality ethic techniques they try to install to solve the problem simply don’t work. These “solutions” can’t take the place of seasons of planting, cultivating, and caring.
What about relationships with children? We can take the shortcuts-we’re bigger, smarter, we have the authority. We can talk down, threaten, and impose our will. We can try to shift the responsibility of training them to schools, churches, or day-care centers. But over time, will these shortcuts develop responsible, caring and wise adults empowered to make effective decisions and live happy lives? Will they result in rich, rewarding relationships for us with those who have the potential to be our closest friends?
In the short run, we may be able to go for the “quick fix” with apparent success. We can make impressions; we can put on the charm. We can learn manipulative techniques-what lever to pull, what button to push to get the desired reaction. But long-term, the Law of the Farm governs in all areas of life. And there’s no way to fake the harvest. As Dr. Sidney Bremer observed in his book, Spirit of Apollo:
Nature is evenly balanced. We cannot disturb her equilibrium, for we know that the law of Cause and Effect is the unerring and inexorable law of nature; but we do fail to find our own equilibrium as nations and as individuals, because we have not yet learned that the same law works as inexorably in human life and in society as in nature-that what we sow, we must inevitably reap.
ILLUSION VERSUS REALITY
The problems in life come when we’re sowing one thing and expecting to reap something entirely different.
Many of our fundamental paradigms and the processes and habits that grow out of them will never produce the results we’ve been led to expect they will. These paradigms-created by people looking for shortcuts, advertising, program-of the month training, and seventy years of personality ethic success literature-are fundamentally based on the quick-fix illusion. This not only affects our awareness of our fundamental needs but also the way we attempt to fulfill them.”
