…until it is destroying your home.

Small dragons that sit on tables become gigantic dragons that destroy homes.  That is the crux of Jack Kent’s children’s story.  But it has very real meaning in the adult world:

Daily drinking can become binge-drinking that turns into alcoholism.

Disorganization can become clutter that turns into hoarding.

Lack of attention or communication turns to loneliness and isolation that can allow for infidelity.

Lack of discipline and excessive parental permissiveness at age 5 turns into acting out at age 15 and becomes an inability to cope our flourish at age 25.

Poorly managed chronic pain can become excessive opiate use that becomes a heroin addiction.

Not all situations have to end terribly.  Not everything turns into a dragon consuming your home.  But every dragon that destroys a home started out as a “little dragon” that sat on the table and looked you in the eye, begging to be noticed.

What little dragons do you need to pay attention to today?

(You can find this story and many others in Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: an antidote for chaos.)