DEPARTAMENTO DE INGLÉS SEDE REGIONAL GRECIA LICENCIATURA EN LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS
LIN-08 INVESTIGACIÓN EDUCATIVA

“LA VACA” WRITTEN REPORT

BY Daython Winston

I - 2016

The book “La vaca” is definitely one of the best stories for self-development and personal growth. It is a story to get rid of mediocrity, false beliefs, delusion, excuses and even procrastination. “Vacas” are defined as anything that is related to negative thinking that we create for ourselves, to justify or excuse our own incapacity to keep moving forward. “La vaca simboliza todo aquello que te mantiene atado a la mediocridad. Una vaca puede ser una excusa. Una vaca también puede ser un pensamiento irracional que te paraliza y no te deja actuar.” (Cruz, 2003, p. 8)
Under these circumstances, this story may not only be suitable for a specific person, but rather everyone who is willing to take the first step to move away from his or her comfort zone. In fact, this is one of the most difficult decisions. People usually feel very peaceful in their comfort zone. Many of them even does not consider it a problem at all, and this makes one of the biggest “vaca” in any area of a person`s life. “Muchas personas no son conscientes de las vacas que tienen; otras son conscientes de ellas, pero, igual, las siguen cuidando y alimentando, ¿por qué? Por una sencilla razón, porque las vacas nos proveen una zona de comfort, una excusa.” (Cruz, 2003, p. 12) Most of these type of people are always afraid of change. They usually do not like exploring new horizons and taking risks and to face the difficulties of real life experiences.
On the other hand, it is essential to transform people`s poor mentality. People should start to work on building their self-esteem with daily actions with themselves and other people around. Increasing their level of self-esteem is the critical determinant of their happiness and success in their personal lives. This will provide people the opportunity to take advantage of their talents and skills. Therefore, killing the “vacas” by avoiding the auto destructive way of thinking and self-deception. The first step to lose the fear to move on and face their own “vacas” that stop them back.
In conclusion, it is not an easy task to replace negative thoughts, destructive habits, and fake paradigms. Most of these “vacas” are inherited from past generations and some other ones are nurtured by our own lack of value and action toward personal success. The cornerstone is to identify which are our “vacas” and work hard enough to overcome all these mental, economical, and even physical limitations to accomplish our goals. Most of the time the limits that stop us from achieving our goals are the ones that we accept in our minds. According to Bryan Tracy a worldwide success expert speaker mentions that any change, or even an attempt to change anything you are doing, makes you uncomfortable. For that reason, taking the steps to move out of your comfort zone, setting priorities, and attempting to eradicate the “vacas” from within, and giving value people around you will ensure a definite success in your life.

References
Cruz, C. (2003). La Vaca. Florida, Estados Unidos: Taller del Éxito, inc. Retrieved from http://www.hacienda.go.cr/centro/datos/Libro/La%20Vaca.pdf
Tracy, B (2001). Living by Your Own Personal Code. California, Estados Unidos: Bryan Tracy International. Retrieved from http://www.briantracy.com/success/psychology-of-achievement/op/personalcode.html?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=psychology-achievement&utm_content=personal-code2-edgar