When the obvious is right in front of us, we often ignore
it, preferring to over-analyze and over-interpret the decisions facing us. Comedian Mel Brooks tells the story of a man
named John who had a maddening compulsion to tear paper. After years of psychoanalysis, John was still
tearing paper. And his family was losing hope.
They finally took him to a new therapist. The fellow walked with John around the room
and talked quietly to him. When John
left, he was cured.
A year later, John’s compulsion had not returned. The grateful family asked the therapist what
he had said to John. The therapist
responded, “I told him, “Don’t tear paper!”
-R. Robert Cueni, The Vital Church Leader
Sometimes it is enough just to say, “No.”
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