Never Cut Down the Tallest Tree

I was listening to a radio show about forests and sustainability. One of the speakers once was told that he should "never cut down the tallest tree in a forest."

Well, why not? That tree would give plenty of lumber and be worth a good price. The speaker didn't know why he shouldn't cut down that particular tree.

Later on someone told him why. Among the reasons, the most important one was that if you take the biggest and tallest tree down the trees underneath it don't have to keep growing to get to the light. They can more or less stop where they are because they have access to the sunlight.

How I Would Use This
This idea really struck me. I know when I am striving for something, I want to know who is above me, who has climbed higher, done better. I don't want to eliminate them (except at low moments) but I want to get to where they are or as close as I can.

This spirit of competition may indeed be healthy in many ways. Some of the legends that have gone before us give us something to aim for.

So Never Cut Down that Tallest Tree.