Dec 03, 2008 - Don't Drag a Dead Horse! On Letting Go by: Diane
Don't Drag a Dead Horse Across the Desert!!!
In Transitions, Making Sense of Lifefs Changes by William Bridges
, the transitions of life have three distinct stages (Ending, Neutral Zone and Beginnings). Bridges states we have a life time of transitions. However, it is very important to understand that before you can begin a new phase of your life, you must end the old phase. An ending is actually the first phase of the transition process and a precondition of self-renewal. You must end before you can begin. Many times the endings are ones dealing with past experience and thoughts.
Don't let the past control your future. Remember this "Don't drag a dead horse through the desert. The burden will kill you - your spirit." The dead horse represents past experiences - which may incorporate the demons that haunt you - your anger - your fears. The desert is part of your life journey. If you drag your fears, your anger, your negative past experiences through your life journey, it will destroy you.
Now some people when they realize they have a dead horse will:
blame society for the dead horse
form a committee to determine why the horse died
daily curse the dead horse
move the horse to another location in hopes the horse will
revive itself
lie down and die next to the dead horse
get a stronger whip to beat the dead horse
sue the dead horse
drag the dead horsethrough the hot desert
My American Indian friends taught me that you take what you can from the dead horse and move on. You take the hide of the horse to shield you from the heat of the sun during the day and keep you warm from the cold of the desert at night. You can take any sustenance (i.e. heart, liver) from the horse to help nurture you. In other words you take the learnings (what can keep you moving forward) from the dead horse and move on. The horse is dead - the experience is dead - it no longer exists. Every ending is a new beginning.
Comment posted: Dec 15 2008 02:22 pm by: Yvonne Davis
Thanks for putting this up! I will share with others in my workplace. Keep up the great advice!
Dianne Floyd Sutton is President of Sutton Enterprises, author, trainer, educator, facilitator, expert witness, coach and actor. She has twenty-five years of combined experience in Human Resource Development (HRD) and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) training. And she has twenty years of business experience as Sutton Enterprises.
