Parrots Are The Worst
Aug 22, 2025
For the past few days I have been in Argentina with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for a series of concerts in Buenos Aires. The experience has been wonderful and memorable in every way. However, one lesson in particular has stood out to me in regards to success and influence… and it has to do with parrots.
We were visiting a historic “Gaucho Ranch” designed to showcase the famous lifestyle of Argentine cowboys, or Gauchos. And as soon as we arrived everyone began looking up at the trees and taking pictures.
The reason?
Wild parrots were flying from tree to tree flashing vibrant reds and greens in their wings.
Naturally, and later to my regret, I then did something I am not proud of. I became one of those annoying people who had to ruin the fun.
“Parrots are the worst…” I said, leaning to someone taking a photo.
Confused they asked, “Why?”
“Because where I grew up in Los Angeles, there were hoards of them that flew from tree to tree by the thousands and they just make the most awful noise…”
Then it hit me.
There I was.
In another country…
On a beautiful day…
Surrounded by delightful people…
Watching a group of wild, colorful (albeit noisy) birds.
And my FIRST reaction was to become the Ebenezer Scrooge of bird watching?
I let a negative memory hijack a perfectly wonderful moment… and to make things worse… I had to spread it around to make me feel better in my misery.
Who was the noisy annoying one now?
I stopped myself, apologized to the person, and walked towards the rest of the planned activities.
As I admired the ranch and the farm animals on display, I couldn’t stop thinking about how easily I let something so insignificant… a memory about noisy birds in trees thousands of miles away and years in the past… get in the way of the wonderful opportunities in the present.
Has that ever happened to you?
Have you ever let a trivial thing hijack an important moment?
Worse still, have you ever let a trivial thing (inside of you) hijack someone else’s moment?
Sadly, I think this is more common than we imagine.
But the key to success and influence (I believe) is quickly becoming aware that it is happening, and redirecting it as soon as possible.
We can’t always control our thoughts, but we are in control of how we entertain them.
Gratefully, I realized soon after I launched into my ranting speech against parrots… that I was being an idiot… and needed to stop.
And so I did.
How can you become more aware of your thoughts?
This week, how can you pay more attention to your thoughts and the words that follow?
And more importantly, how can you take the time to reflect on how those thoughts turn to words… and those words then turn to actions?
I’ve heard it said we are the sum of our actions.
But if this story teaches me anything, we are really the sum of our thoughts.
Especially the ones we entertain.
Once we become more aware of our thinking… then negative thoughts don’t stay for very long.
They fly away when we don’t feed them.
Unlike those stupid parrots…
Christian
Buenos Aires is stunning!
CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the 2X #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com
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