One of my clients
shared this story with me recently and I found it enlightening and relevant for
almost everyone:
A farmer is sitting
on his porch in a chair, hanging out with his dog.
A friend walks up to
the porch to say hello and hears an awful yelping, squealing sound coming from
the dog.
“What’s the matter
with Ol’ Blue?” asks the friend.
“He’s layin’ on a
nail that’s pokin’ up from the floorboards,” says the
farmer.
“Why doesn’t he just
sit up and get off it?” asks the friend.
The farmer
deliberates on this and replies: “Don’t hurt enough
yet.”
I’ve
told this story to several clients and they all had the same reaction --
they paused for a brief second and then they laughed. The dilemma illustrated is a
very real, human one that we've all found ourselves in at some point. We can relate to the dog and laugh at
ourselves. It seems silly and obvious to
the friend that the dog should get up off the nail, but it is equally obvious to
the farmer that the pain has to be "bad enough" before the dog is
willing to make the effort of getting up and facing his fear of change.
Ask
yourself if you are “laying on a nail”.
Are you tolerating a situation that is causing discomfort -- perhaps a
relationship or a commitment, a job or a work situation, a habit or a pattern of how you relate to others. If so, ask yourself why
you’re willing to accept the discomfort rather than face change -- what is
holding you back and how much more would the situation have to hurt before you’d
be willing to “get off the nail”?
