The apprentice stood at the edge of the table. The master had placed several cups in front of him on the table. The apprentice’s job every morning was to pour his master a drink. He was only allowed to fill up one cup a day. Each day the apprentice would choose a different cup and each day he chose the wrong cup. Choosing the wrong cup resulted in the consequence of carrying water down from the well at the top of the mountain.

Every time the apprentice picked the wrong cup, the master would give a reason for why he picked the wrong cup that day. There was always a different reason for why he picked the wrong cup. There did not seem to be any specific pattern that the apprentice could learn from. No matter what cup he picked, he could not please his master.

One day the apprentice was on hiking up the mountain to fetch more water from the well. The other apprentices berated him as he hiked. They told him that he carried his bucket wrong. They told him that he walked weird. They laughed at the way he carried his shoulder pole. All of this did not matter to the apprentice.

The apprentice been the center of scorn since he arrived. He had long since understood that he would never be able to please the other boys. Instead of trying to appease them, he had instead focused on gauging his own success. He had listed measurable goals for himself to achieve and each time he met a milestone, he felt good about his success, regardless of how his peers belittled him. If he met his measurable criteria for success, then he felt successful.

The apprentice was successful. He excelled in all the events, except one. He could not successfully serve his master water. His master was never pleased when he poured a measure of water into the master’s cup.

The apprentice woke up the next day. He walked to the dining room. He picked up the pitcher of water. Instead of pouring the water into his master’s cup, he poured the water into his own cup. He carried his cup to his master. That day the master did not tell the apprentice if he picked the wrong cup or not. That day the master asked the apprentice if he had picked the correct cup.