A flock of dejected sheep led meaningless lives, so they solved the problem by founding a school in which they taught other sheep how to lead meaningful lives.” — Vernon Howard.
The Modern Quest for Meaning
Vernon Howard’s parable is deceptively simple. It’s a satire of human nature, but more importantly, a warning.
We seek meaning. But often, instead of doing the hard, reflective work to find it, we outsource it. We buy courses, attend seminars, join groups, and read endless books about how to live a meaningful life. Yet much of this effort can become circular—one flock of lost sheep teaching another how to be found, without anyone ever leaving the pasture.
Howard’s message? Beware of the “Sheep School Syndrome.” We risk becoming students of meaning instead of participants in life.
The Industry of Meaning-Making
Entire industries now exist to help people find purpose and happiness:
– Life coaching
– Self-improvement workshops
– Masterclasses on everything from mindfulness to legacy building
– Motivational speakers charging thousands per event
While some of these resources are helpful, many reinforce the search without delivering the substance. They provide formulas, slogans, or ten-step plans for fulfillment, but often keep people running on a treadmill of spiritual consumerism.
Howard’s parable exposes this trap. Instead of living meaningfully, people become caught in an endless pursuit of understanding what is meaningful.
Why Do We Do This?
A multitude of reasons we do what we do:
-Follow your peers: Being a leader or daring to be yourself, which may be different than those you associate with, can be a huge challenge. It’s easier to stay with the flock than to break away.
– Fear of freedom: Directing your life and not letting someone else do it for you takes significant courage and often involves risk; losing friends, family falling out, and potential confrontation.
– The illusion of progress: Reading, attending seminars, webinars, lectures, and getting counseling are all good. However, you must then act and apply what you have learned. All the newfound education may feel like action, but it’s not.
As psychologist Viktor Frankl famously wrote, “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life.” However, Frankl also warned that meaning cannot be given; it must be discovered through action and experience.
How to Escape the Sheep School
If you want to live a meaningful life, consider these questions:
1. Am I living, or just studying life?
2. Am I following the herd, or following my heart?
3. Am I teaching what I have not yet mastered?
4. Am I mistaking activity for growth?
Reflection is good. But reflection must lead to action, not endless contemplation.
The Courage to Step Away
Living a meaningful life requires stepping away from the safety of the flock. It means pausing the search for the following big answer and starting to live your answers, however imperfectly.
Instead of asking, “What course should I take next?” try asking, “What small, brave step can I take today that reflects what I already know is true?”
That’s how you stop being a sheep and start becoming a human, fully living life.
Final Thoughts
Vernon Howard’s lesson is timeless because the temptation to delegate life’s most profound questions remains constant. But no school, no guru, and no textbook can give you what only you can discover.
