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Howling Dog

Guest post by: Andrew Campbell-Watt

Article Overview: If you have made a poor choice of employment do something about it. For your own peace of mind do something! Anything is better than remaining in an unpleasnt situation. It is, of course, a different story if your current employment is necessary because of the economic situation. there is not much that can be done about this in the short term. You may have to put up with employment that you would not normally choose or which is possibly unpleasant. Internalise the fact that this is a temporary situation.

Howling Dog

Many people will know this brief tale – or at least a variation of it, but it is worth repeating for the message it sends. It is a simple tale of a man who visits a friend whom he finds on the back porch of his house sitting on a chair, idling away the time by whittling on a piece of wood. He strikes up a conversation with his friend but is constantly interrupted by a dog lying next to his friend’s chair, which every now and again whines then emits a howl. Somewhat alarmed he asks his friend if the dog shouldn’t be taken to a vet and treated for an obviously painful ailment.

The friend says, “No. He is lying on a nail but it is not hurting enough for him to get up and move. So he just lies there whining and howling.”

Now how many of us are in a situation, domestically or at work, which gives us grief in that it is emotionally draining, stressful and generally unpleasant? If this is your situation (and I believe that many people find themselves in this situation) which, to put it plainly, is not conducive to peace of mind or work-life balance, what are you doing about it? Are you just accepting the emotional pain without getting up and moving and just like the unfortunate animal in the tale above, complaining about your situation but remaining where you are? Why? In the name of all that is wonderful, why?

A reluctance to move may be as a result of economic circumstances – this is perfectly understandable, particularly if there are no jobs to move to. But internalise the fact that this is merely a temporary situation. This will give you hope for the future.

In our society it is a criminal offence to physically restrain someone against their will - unless of course they are already in prison, which is a different story entirely. I am talking about voluntary situations where a choice has been made; a choice which turned out to have been not very good. We all make bad decisions at times. If you made a bad choice, take a deep breath, choose again and move on with your life.

Remember, without chains, you are only held against your will if you have, (even subconsciously), given someone permission to hold you. Move on – withdraw that “permission” and live the life you choose to live. Live your life, not the life someone else wants you to live.

Now choose and move on! Don’t just complain and do nothing! Do something!!

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Article Tags: changing situation, Choices, howling dogs, peace of mind, permission, physical restraint, worklife balance



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