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Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Released Wednesday, 12th February 2020
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Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Leaning Toward Wisdom - Even Dragons Have Their Endings

Wednesday, 12th February 2020
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“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Some years ago Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book entitled, Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward.

Experience has taught me that this isn't easy for some. They struggle to say, "No." Or to quit something, even if they know "the something" isn't working terribly well for them. The difficulty is determining how necessary the ending truly is.

Quitting can be hard. Figuring out what's necessary to quit? Even harder.

You'd think to figure out what isn't working would be easy, but it's not always so clear cut. Sometimes we have to step back and better understand basic terms. Every website and software has terms and conditions. Those outline the responsibilities of both providers and users. Most are a grand display of legal protections but at their core...they outline the issues of WHO and WHAT. Sometimes they may also include HOW. So let's try that with a few things in the hopes it'll help us learn how we can figure out the endings of our dragons. 'Cause even dragons have their ending.

Dragons: They're Not Our Pet

They shouldn't be anyway.

Sometimes we make them our pets. We cuddle them. Love them. Embrace them. Do whatever we can to keep them hanging around. Hoping they'll love us.

Dragons - at least for our discussion today - are the people or situations that don't help us progress as people. They don't make us better. They don't benefit us in ways that truly matter. They may be fun. They may even be rewarding in other ways - maybe they make us money, or they give us associations we enjoy. Even destructive relationships or endeavors can provide something we value...but just because we value it doesn't mean it's good for us.“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”              ― Mary Anne RadmacherWe can all value destructive things. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. Gambling addiction. Pornography addiction. Abuse. The world is filled with destructive things that not only exist in people's lives...but often rule their lives. Think about the things in your life right now that you know are destructive. You know they hurt you and your ability to become a better person. Go ahead. Write them down. Open up a note in your phone and list them. All the destructive things that you know are in your way toward becoming the best version of YOU.

We can all value things that aren't destructive necessarily, but they don't move us forward. They keep us stuck. Jobs we hate. Careers we hate even more. One-sided relationships. Oppressive bosses. Habits. Now, think about these things. They're not bad in the sense that they're destructive, but embracing them puts you in the same place as those destructive things. They stop you from being a better person. They stick you in a place you know isn't your ideal best. Go ahead. Write them down somewhere. Make a note of them. All the things that you don't think are bad, they just keep you from moving forward to improve. To get better.

Dragons are dragons, even if they are our pets. They'll turn on you. It's only a matter of time. We should be on guard because you can never trust a dragon.

Dragons are large, over-bearing creatures. Figments of our imaginations. Making them the most fierce beasts around. Because they're largely - but not always - in our head.

But even dragons have their endings. And we can help. After all, we created most of them in our minds. Stands to reason, we can stop creating them and cease to give life to the ones we did create.

Dragons aren't merely thoughts though. Some are real. They can take the form of toxic people. Or toxic situations. Or challenges and difficulties. Or even opportunities - things that might otherwise be good and profitable,

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