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-->The Lesson of the Tick & the Dog
One lesson I taught my sons in their teenage years was a home-spun one I made up called, “The Lesson of the Tick & the Dog”. It’s about people types. Learning to discern and navigate your life properly without being hindered by those with wrong motives or lazy habits. Here’s the lesson…
As you go through life you’ll meet many people. Some add value to you, bring an example that inspires you, sharpen you at some phase of life or they will latch on, drag down, mooch off of, and drain your energy. Like “Ticks & Dogs”, people can be one or the other.
Now remember this; Ticks need a dog. Dogs don’t need ticks. Got that? Ticks NEED dogs, Dogs DON’T NEED ticks! That observation alone will decide who should be in your life and why some people are where they are in life. Tick types ride the coattail of the influence of others. They can’t produce anything worthwhile themselves, so they “hitch-hike” off the back of “dogs” that can produce. The only way a tick can go far is on the back of a dog that goes far. The only way a tick gets off the ground is on the back of a dog. Ticks are known for waiting on a blade of grass until a dog comes by. Once contact is made, the tick jumps on board.
You will find people like that all throughout life. They have no influence of their own, they need yours. They cannot produce anything on their own, they have to be attached to a dog that does. So look around and ask, “When left to no one but myself, do I do well or fail miserably” If you do very well, it’s probably because you are a dog. You can make it anywhere. If not, make a serious change, and not for another dog. I’ve had people on my coattail in life who just changed dogs at times. That’s hilarious. There’s something refreshing about being with other dogs. They want you, but don’t need you. They have a life and ambition of their own. I want them, but know I can make it without them, so our relationship is healthier.
Many times over the years, I watched my sons make good choices with friends and they’d say, “The Lesson of the Tick & the Dog” helped decide how close or distant they needed to be in their choice. Maybe it will do the same for you.