We have a Goldendoodle named Lou. He's almost five years old, and he's the absolute best. If you don't have pets, get one. A dog, a cat, a rabbit, get a fish. Get something. Pets are the best. They add so much life to the household, and they give energy with their personalities.
Yesterday, the groomer came to the house to give him his usual haircut. I personally like to keep Lou's hair long and shaggy. I love it when his curly hair gets wild, and you just about can't see his eyes, and his tail is shaggy, and his ears are fluffy. However, if you're going to have a dog with hair like this, you're supposed to brush them more often than we do, because their hair starts to get matted, and it can cause some problems for them.
At least, that's what my groomer consistently tells me, every time she sees Lou, like clockwork.
Yes, my groomer lectures the hell out of me, because we're bad pet parents.
Ok, let's be real here. Between life, work, and whatever other responsibilities, sometimes Lou gets the back seat. By the time the day ends, brushing Lou's curly hair isn't at the top of the priority list.
So each time the groomer shows up, she knows that the hair in between his toes and on his ears is going to be curled, and the Bond family isn't doing their job as pet parents.
But sometimes, you need a little lecture, because she's right.
We should brush Lou more, we should get his hair cut more on a schedule, and we should be more consistent.
Even though I don't want the lecture, it's the right thing for her as a groomer to do.
We hate lectures in our careers and in our personal lives. Nobody wants to be told, nobody wants a lecture on a topic that we usually know the answers to, and we just want the other person to stop talking at us.
But here's the part we don't like admitting. The lecture isn't the problem. The avoidance is.
We already know what we're supposed to be doing. Brush more. Be consistent. The frustration doesn't come from new information. It comes from being reminded of the gap between intention and action.
Careers work the same way. Most people don't need more advice. They don't need another podcast, framework, or perfectly worded LinkedIn post. They need someone willing to say the uncomfortable thing out loud.
You're not following up. You're playing it safe. You're letting good enough turn into a long-term strategy. And yes, it stings when someone points it out, especially when you already know it's true.
The difference between people who stay stuck and people who move forward is who they let talk to them when it's uncomfortable. The groomer doesn't lecture Lou. She lectures us. Because we're the ones responsible for the outcome. The same goes for your career. If no one is willing to challenge you, you'll keep letting things get matted, messy, and harder to fix over time.
Sometimes the lecture is the care.