I have always believed that books come to you at the right moment. Some resonate instantly, while others feel irrelevant until a later season of life. A couple of months ago, while staying at a resort, I picked up The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People from their bookshelf. I set aside the book I had carried with me and started reading it instead. I didn’t finish and left it behind, telling myself that I would buy a copy later. Then life happened, and I forgot all about it totally.
Last Sunday, I happened to notice the same book on a friend’s shelf. It felt almost like the book was following me around, waiting for me to finally pay attention. This time, I decided not to ignore the sign. I opened it again, and started reading. I found myself pausing at a concept of the balancing between P and PC. I did understand it but lacked practical knowledge on applying it in day to day activities. Ran to LLMs to understand.
The author explains it through the old story of the goose that lays golden eggs. Same old story. The golden eggs represent production (the outcomes/results) we chase, whether it’s money, recognition, or any form of visible success. The goose represents production capacity (the machine/engine/body) that produces those results in the first place. Our health, our skills, our relationships, and our systems.
If we chase only the eggs, we risk burning out the goose. If we only keep feeding the goose without expecting results, we might never see progress. The challenge is to balance both, because real growth lies in protecting the goose while still collecting the eggs. The body has to stay fit to order to work.
As I was fidgeting with this idea, I realized it tied back to many of the reflections I have thought about. The vicious cycle of health, strength that lasts, why we should rest and work like lions, and how we juggle priorities. Each of those themes circles around the same truth. The goose matters as much as the eggs.
The more I think about it, the more I see that not all outputs/results are created equal. Some are just one-time golden eggs like small wins that feel good for the moment but don’t leave much behind. Others are scalable. They build the goose itself, ensuring bigger and better eggs in the future. Daily yoga/lifting weights for better and healthier body.
On the other hand, scrolling endlessly on the phone or saying yes to draining conversations may give a quick golden egg of distraction or temporary comfort, but they don’t feed the goose.
We keep chasing golden eggs without realizing the goose is starving. Burnout, imbalance, even unhappiness all of it comes from forgetting the goose.
Before your next task, ask yourself. Am I feeding the goose or starving it? Since we often forget the basics.
Cheers!
Check out the previous post: Subjective Nature of Every Solution! & Movie Reviews
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Random Whys 
3 thoughts on “Keeping the goose alive!”