How Much Land Does a Man Need? – a Goldilocks Theory

Last weekend, a good friend of mine told me a story, written by Leo Tolstoy in 1886, named “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” As a girl who always loves stories, surely this story catches my attention – moreover with this man’s gift of storytelling. In a brief, this story talks about a man who was so greedy for land that, ends up dying of his own ambition.

Two days after the storytelling moment, the story lingers in my head, asking “what ‘land’ am I greedy for?” Well, humans are humans, no? They are born greedy (I am doubting that I will have stance on this statement forever, but at least for now, I believe that everyone is greedy for their natural behavior). Thus, I know that I do have greediness as well. But in my case, “what is my ‘land’?”

Looking back, I always had thoughts of being insecure. I thought that I had beaten it, until last week a new friend of mine pointed that out on our night ride after an after-work-party. At that time, I realized I still have the Alphani who would hide in her cave to not meet any people (to not be judged) inside.

Looking at myself, I know I am not pretty, not rich, not have any power, not smart, or not kind/sociable – or anything you put as an essential thing to live a good life. I know, those can be attained but will be harder for people who start from zero (not to mention minus). However, I clearly know that being smart can be the strongest (at least for me), and the easiest (again, for me) way to gain the mountain top. Thus, unconsciously I became the nerdy girl you will find in the library on every break, or even reading books at a party.

I thought, being a competition winner will be enough. However, turns out that even being the best graduate wasn’t. I thought, being an exchange scholar will be enough. Turns out, even being an awardee of the most prestigious scholarship in my home country was not enough.

I thought that was normal.. Until… even gaining admission to the top 3 universities in the world aren’t enough.

and there is when I realized that, it was my ‘land’.

“Then, what is enough?” asked me to myself.

How can the man know that the land is enough for him and his stocks?

Again, as a fan of stories, I encountered a folklore named “Goldilocks and The Three Bears” in a conversation with the storyteller (turns out he never read about the Goldilocks!) Well, if you don’t know, it’s basically a girl who sneaks into a bear family’s house and searches for the “perfect” situation for her.

As famous as it gets, the story became a framework! It is named, “the goldilocks theory.” and perhaps, this will be a framework I use to get the “enough ‘land’”.

It is said,

“Not too much”

“Not too small”

“Just right..”

And the “how” is on my ongoing read in the lifelong school called “life”.