Psychotherapist Milton H. Erickson was a master at using metaphor and was truly capable of grasping the image his patients had of the world in order to obtain his desired therapeutic result. For example there was a case where a patient was convinced he was Jesus. After other doctors had unsuccessfully attempted to help him, Dr. Erickson pulled the man aside and told him that he had heard the guy had done some carpentry in the past. The patient, surprised, answered “yes”. When Dr. Erickson placed an order for bookshelves for the clinic, the patient, unable to carry out the task, began the process of freeing himself from this paralyzing identity.

Erickson apparently had the same gift as a child because he told the story of being on a farm one day as a young boy and watching a stable hand desperately try to pull a donkey into a stable. The donkey had planted itself firmly in the ground and was not going to budge. Again and again, the man yanked with all his force and scoffed when the boy asked if he could give it a try. Young Erickson tugged so hard in the opposite direction, on the tail, that the donkey literally flew into the stall. This metaphor is presented as food for thought: I decline all responsibility if you decide to start pulling your immobile colleagues by the tail…