In Ask Coach Tony, you can put my Operation Melt coaching to the test by asking me questions about how to achieve your goals.
Because a question asked by one is often a question had by many, I am regularly sharing these answers via the Operation Melt blog.
Are you ready for a dad joke?
I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. My dad joke may be groan-worthy, but it's worth every penny you paid for it, right?
Three statisticians go duck hunting. A duck flies out of the grass, and the first statistician pulls out his gun and fires at the duck. His shot is ten feet too high. The second statistician says, "I'll get him." He pulls out his gun, fires, and his shot is ten feet too low. The third statistician jumps up and down, celebrating and shouts, "We got him!"
Feeling Fowl? Stunning Advice From A Talking Duck
A man plopped down on a park bench alongside a picturesque lake. He was surrounded by natural beauty – blooming flowers, frolicking wildlife, sparkling water and a perfect blue sky – but he couldn’t see it. As soon as he sat down, he exasperatedly put his head in his hands and reflected on his string of bad weeks.
Out of nowhere, he heard a voice behind him. “Hey mister, are you ok? You look sad.”
He turned around, expecting to see another person, but was shocked when he was greeted by a duck looking him in the eyes.
“Um… are you a talking duck, or am I worse off than I thought I was?” he asked the duck.
The duck replied, “All ducks can talk. Everything in nature can talk if you just know how to listen.”
Incredulously, the man said back to the duck, “Ok, well that sounds crazy.”
“Wow, you think that’s crazy? Well, you’re sitting in one of the most beautiful places on earth, surrounded by nature and you can’t see any of it because you are so stuck in your own head. Whose the crazy one here?” Replied the duck.
“Fair point. Who know ducks were so insightful?”
“Well, I did,” the duck replied with a chuckle (a duckle?), “want to tell me what has you so sad?”
“Thanks, but I don’t think you want to hear it. You wouldn’t understand,” the man said, dismissing the offer.
“C’mon. Sometimes it helps to talk about it when you’re in a … fowl mood.”
“A talking duck who tells dad jokes… now I’ve seen everything. Ok, I’ll give it a try. Here goes… I have had a string of difficult weeks and am not very happy with how my life is going.”
The duck hopped up on the bench beside the man and listened attentively as the man continued his story.
“I have been working sixty-hour weeks for months and just found out that I’m being passed over for a promotion. My expensive car just died and needs a pricey repair. I have tons of things broken at home that need fixed and no time or money to fix them all. One of my best friends just said some offensive things to me that shocked me. My wife is mad at me because of the long hours that mean we never get to do anything. I have put on some weight and am not happy with my body. Most troubling is this feeling that I don’t know why I’m here and what I want to achieve before I’m gone.”
The duck responded, “wow, that’s rough my friend. I guess being a human isn’t all it’s quacked up to be.”
The man laughed as the duck thought to himself for a second.
“Let me tell you how I spend my days. My mate and I wake up in the morning. I love her despite being way more attractive than she is. We go find some food from a bird feeder or the field or maybe some yummy algae slime. After we eat, we go for a serene swim on this beautiful lake for a few hours. After swimming, we lounge together in the sun before finding more food. We continue this for the rest of the day until its time for us to sleep again. Once a year, we have babies and try to keep as many of them alive as possible until they head off on their own, leaving us as empty-nesters.”
The duck raised a flipper and continued, “But don’t think my life is without challenges. Sometimes, food is hard to find. We usually lose a few babies each year. Plus, we have to work hard to avoid hunters, cars and dogs. So, I’ve got problems too. But we do our best to survive every day.”
The man looked confused and said to the duck, “I don’t understand. Your life is so simple, how does that story help me with my problems?”
“You might be right. Or, maybe that’s the point. Could it be you would have fewer problems and would be happier if you tried to simplify your life a little? Long work hours, promotions, expensive cars, sadness, frustration… it sounds like you are going out of your way to put pressure on yourself, complicate things and make yourself unhappy. You could just do your best to survive every day and appreciate the beauty of the world around you. But, I’m just a duck, so what do I know?”
He suddenly understood what the duck was saying and knew he was right. “So, are you saying I should prioritize being happy with who and what I am today instead of chasing things that might make me happy sometime in the future?”
The duck simply quacked and walked off to join his mate. He looked back over his left wing and winked at the man before the two ducks hopped into the water and swam off.
Are you ready to focus on being happy today? While I’m no duck, I am a master life coach and would be honored to help you simplify your life. Let’s chat about how coaching might help you live the life of your dreams today.
I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you!
Meet Coach Tony
My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal.
I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt.
Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals.
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