One of my favorite U.S. Presidents after Abraham Lincoln has to be Theodore Roosevelt. Although late 19th and early 20th century was his time in the sun, he could teach us a thing or two today.
How about getting through a negotiation? How about getting to the point and clearing through the clutter?
There is a term in communication where everyone talks around a problem. You can see it in real estate where parties to a transaction don't really find out what the other wants. In life, people can dance around marital problems, talking about finances with elderly parents, the birds and the bees talks with young children (although with that last one they might be teaching you these days).
In communication they call it the elephant in the room, but for the sake of this post it will be
HAVE YOU SEEN A PINK ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?
You see pink elephants jokingly when we've had too much to drink. But seriously in many families with an alcoholic or addiction or abuse problems, no one talks about the elephant. It is a silence that needs to be broken, though not easily without assistance from others.
That's where old T.R. comes along. He had a policy in negotiating with other countries to "speak softly but carry a big stick." Meaning you can change things with strength. No one said change was easy. Harnessing resources to open communication, to change situations takes courage and help from others. Find the big sticks in your life to conquer those elephants, pink or otherwise that may reside in your living room.
Or else, things just might Festus (fester) on you.
BTW, Teddy Roosevelt may have been a man of action and strength but the world of his day loved him still. Where do you think we got the Teddy Bear and the national parks from?
Same guy that road his horse up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American war. Quite a character, that Teddy.
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