Future, Inc - The Hog Who Wore Pantyhose

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Coaching For Life: The Hog Who Wore Pantyhose
by Jeri Costa

Poor Harriet the Hog needed all the help she could get to cover up her well-endowed thighs. One day while she was hiding behind the fence wallowing in her misery a fine-looking bull glanced over in her direction.

"Why are you over there where no one can see you?" he bellowed. "No reason at all," she replied, fully aware she was embarrassed to be seen. Being the wise old bull that he was, he knew what the problem might be. "Say," he said, "have you seen the farmer's wife? Why, her two legs could be mistaken for tree trunks; and you could set up a picnic for ten on her rear end. But because she wears these things called pantyhose you would never know it. After she wears them she throws them in the bin at the back of the barn. They could be yours for the taking!"

Harriet concealed her delight and headed straight for the trash. She put on those pantyhose and strutted around the other hogs. Her pork was compacted like it was shrink-wrapped, and she was proud of it.

A few days later a neighboring goat wandered over to see what was new in "Hogsville." As soon as he saw Harriet he threw back his head with laughter and contempt.

"You got a problem?" she squealed. He could hardly contain himself as he snickered back, "They won't send you off to the packing plant; your bacon has already been fried in those pantyhose." Trying to appear composed and unruffled she shrieked, "In case you haven't noticed, I am cloaked in the most beautiful sheer nylon, and I would never associate with the likes of you!" He then replied in the most sarcastic of tones,

"Why, Miss Harriet, I do declare
I see beneath the clothes you wear
Is that a leg, or is that a log?
Nothing has changed; you're still a hog."

What pantyhose are you wearing in your life that cover up, but will never change, who you are? Why are you stuck wearing your old beliefs when they do not serve you? Who are the bulls in your life that co-conspire to conceal what needs to change? What happens when the cruel goat comes along and blows your cover?

In my experience as a motivational and life-transitional coach, I often find that the greatest barrier to success is the cover-up we wear. So much of our energy is dissipated by obscuring what does not work, rather than changing it. We live in constant fear, keeping up our guard so that we will not be found out -- so that no one will see that we are like everyone else: fallible human beings.

It is ingrained in us from early childhood that unless we look a certain way, are the best at what we do and score the most points, we had better run for cover, because second best is "less than." We have zero tolerance for failure: a wrong move could cost us the game. Who is willing these days to be seen as "the loser"? Yet true winners know that unless they take a chance and see failure as learning, they will not grow.

When was the last time you were encouraged to parade your flaws? Or, like Harriet the Hog, do you cover them up, strutting around as if no one sees through them? We all marvel at such accomplishments as Thomas Edison discovering the light bulb. Does anyone ever talk about the some 10,000 attempts he made before discovering the carbon filament to carry the light?

What keeps us stuck like Harriet is our own faulty vision of who we are. No pantyhose could alter the fact that she was a hog. But what could be changed? How she viewed herself. This is what takes us out of our comfort zone to that uneasy space of apprehension and a feeling of unworthiness, which is followed by the wish to go undercover for safety. This is when we tend to feel inadequate and helpless; but it is also in this state that we have the capacity for greatness. You cannot step in the same river twice, as it has moved on. So instead of resisting the change, evolve with the natural flow that keeps on moving with or without you.

H.G. Wells once said, "Our darkest secrets lie deep within our past, but we must know that every past is a beginning of a beginning and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the Dawn." If today you hide behind a dream because of what others might see as failure, or because it exposes who you are, I invite you to chuckle once again at Harriet in her ridiculous see-through pantyhose exposing what already could be seen.

I find in my work that those who open to transformation learn to honor who they are, every bit as much as those they are willing to become.

Jeri Costa offers an effective life-time approach to success that will jump-start your life. Her one-on-one program of coaching will offer you consistent results in all areas of our life while maintaining a sense of well-being. Creating this balance will challenge you to rid yourself of unproductive beliefs, find your true life purpose, and achieve specific goals once and for all.

She will DARE YOU to follow your bliss. Call 703-630-3544 today to inspire change in your life. Introductory session at a reduced rate of $100 for a 1 1/2 hour appointment.

Jeri is affiliated with Success Unlimited Network® accredited by the International Federation of Coaches.