Takedown Report

Klessinger: Learn from buffalo: run straight into difficulty

By John Klessinger

I saw something recently that really piqued my interest. It was about buffaloes and how they respond to storms. If a storm is coming, the buffalo will run right into the storm. This was unusual, so I investigated it a little more and found an article that talked about how buffalo and cows cohabitate in the Midwest due to the geography of mountains and plains. Or at least at close by in proximity.
When a storm is coming, a cow will try to flee the storm. Run away from it. Ultimately, the cow will hit the entire storm from beginning to end. The cow’s attempt to outrun the storm actually prolongs the intensity.
A buffalo, on the other hand, turns and runs into the storm. They meet it head-on. I don’t know if it is instinct or biology or both, but the buffalo knows if they run into the storm, the time of intensity lessens. The brunt will be quicker and consequently over sooner.
Most often, people are cows. We avoid things that will cause pain. We may procrastinate and push away something that will bring discomfort. It could be a paper that needs to be written for a class. We say we will do it later. We distract ourselves with unproductive time on social media, television and daydreaming. In other words, we avoid the storm.
What happens? The storm catches up to us. And, like the cow, we feel its full force. If we faced it head-on like the buffalo, if we did the hard work now instead of later, we would have saved ourselves a lot of discomfort and stress.
You know as well as I do that it doesn’t go away when we avoid something. Whatever it is, studying for a test, extra drilling, the tough conversation, it still lingers in our minds. We still have the anticipation or worry. The bodily sensations of dread and apprehension increase a little because of our avoidance. The intensity of the storm actually becomes greater. We are prolonging the inevitable. We know that but still choose to run away. At least temporarily.
I write a lot about similar things. I love wrestling. Wrestling is a metaphor like the buffalo. To me, wrestling has become like the buffalo. The sport teaches us to stay the course, embrace challenges and not be afraid of the storm. But, it takes work. If we genuinely ever want to get out of this sport what we want, we have to be the buffalo. We have to run into the storms. Face whatever brings us fear. Wrestle the best opponents. Do the challenging workouts. Push yourself each day, even when it feels impossible. Surprisingly, what we learn is that although challenging at times, it is better than running away from it. It is a shorter period of intensity. It may be a loss. Or a few days of discomfort studying when you are tired. The conversation with your boss may have been difficult. But in the end, you did it. You faced the challenge head-on and, … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2026/01/07/klessinger-learn-from-buffalo-run-straight-into-difficulty/

January 13, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized