The first time I heard of this was from Les Brown.
Source
You’ve all probably heard the story –
A man walks into an old general store. As he moves through the aisles, he notices a dog lying beside the checkout counter where the owner is sitting. The dog is whimpering and whining when he walks in, and again he notices him doing the same thing when he approaches the owner to check out. He asks the owner, “Your dog seems to be in pain. What’s the problem?”
The owner responds, “Oh, that’s just old Rover. That’s where he lays and naps every day. He’s whimpering and whining because over time a nail has worn through the floorboard, and it hurts him.”
“Why doesn’t he just move?” says the visitor.
The owner replies, “Well, I guess it just doesn’t hurt enough to move.”
I’ve often referenced that silly story when trying to help people understand that they’re griping and complaining is worthless if they don’t have an interest in the solution. Ever been around them – they know there’s a problem, but they keep wallowing in it. Whatever good advice that’s offered, it’s irrelevant because the “victim” doesn’t want the solution. The solution is never what he’s after; it’s the audience.
Well, I thought about this the other day when I was lamenting over people who are like the dog. I can’t stand when people harp on their issues with absolutely no interest in any solutions. Why? Because that would take away their excuse to complain.
And then I realized that I was complaining about these people. Which kind of made me part of the problem. My response to their lack of responsibility was frustrating me. I wrote an article years ago entitled “Is it Better to Engage the Fool or to be the Fool”? If the dog on the nail continues to bother me, I guess I am also the Fool.
So, the next time I see or “hear” a dog on a nail – the Fool, I’ll just smile and walk on by.
