Legend of the Two Wolves

Erika Baum
6 days ago
2 min read

The Cherokee Story of the Two Wolves

An old Cherokee grandfather was teaching his grandson about life.

He said, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves.”

“One wolf is bad. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

“The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

He continued, “This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person too.”

The grandson thought about it for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old man replied, “The one you feed.”

A Reflection on the Story of the Two Wolves

The story of the two wolves is often shared as a simple moral lesson about “positive thinking,” but that reading misses the deeper point.

The old Cherokee teaching doesn’t suggest that we should get rid of the dark wolf, shame it, or pretend it isn’t there. The wolf made of anger, fear, envy, and grief didn’t appear by accident. It formed in response to pain, loss, threat, or unmet needs. In many ways, it exists because it once had to.

The real wisdom in this story is about attention and reinforcement.

What we repeatedly give our energy to—our thoughts, interpretations, habits, and emotional reactions—grows stronger over time. The mind and nervous system learn through repetition. When we continuously rehearse fear, resentment, or self-blame, those pathways deepen. Not because we are broken, but because our systems are doing exactly what they were designed to do: learn from experience.

But the same is true in the other direction.

When we practice compassion, groundedness, honesty, and presence—even imperfectly—we strengthen a different set of internal responses. Over time, those qualities become more accessible, more automatic, and more trustworthy.

Importantly, feeding one wolf doesn’t require starving the other. Growth doesn’t happen through suppression or self-judgment. In fact, trying to silence the “bad” wolf often gives it more power. Change happens when we stop identifying as the wolves and instead recognize ourselves as the one choosing where to place attention.

The story quietly reminds us of something essential: We are not our impulses. We are not our emotions. We are not our survival patterns.

We are the awareness that notices them.

And each day, often in very small ways, we decide which inner world we are strengthening—not through force, but through repetition, care, and intention.