"It Must Not Hurt That Bad"

My mom once told me a story about a dog that sat on the porch howling in pain all day and all night long. People in the neighborhood would always hear the dog, and would wonder why he was always howling. One day a neighbor was walking by the house, and the owner was on the porch with the dog.

"Why does your dog howl like that? He sounds like he's in pain," the neighbor said.

"He is in pain," said the owner. "He's sitting on a nail."

"A nail," the neighbor said. "Is he stuck?"

"Nope," said the owner.

"So why doesn't he just get up?" said the neighbor.

The owner replied: "It must not hurt that bad."

The moral of the story is that many people complain extensively about their situations, but do little or nothing to try and change things. Unfortunately, onlookers have to conclude that it really must not be that bad. Surely, you know someone like this. But ask yourself - "Am I like this?"

Many complain about their financial status, but then make excuses about the solution that's right in front of their face. Here's an example:

A friend from the Washington DC area once told me that he was struggling really bad to make ends meet. He said he had goals to start a business, but simply could not afford to do so. I asked him if there was anything keeping him tied to the DC area. He said no.

So, I encouraged him to move down south to Virginia or North Carolina with cheaper living expenses - about half what he's paying to live in DC. In addition, he could start a business with less startup funds and a less saturated market.

His response was: "Ain't nothing to do down there." My response was: "It must not hurt that bad."

Change the direction of your life starting today. Stop suffering from self-inflicted wounds. If you can do something about your situation, then do it. Stop making excuses, stop procrastinating, and do it!