Problems grow the size needed for you to acknowledge them

Jack Kent tells us the story of a little boy, Billy, who one day finds in his room a dragon the size of a cat. Billy’s mother ignores it, because there is no such thing as a dragon. Hour after hour, the dragon keeps growing, ignored. One day, it grows so much that it wrecks Billy’s house. Finally, faced with a destroyed home, Billy’s mother acknowledges the dragon, who begins shrinking. At the end of the story, Billy’s mother asks: “Why did the dragon grow so big?” Billy answers: “I guess it had to grow the size it needed to be acknowledged”.

There are many reasons for which problems appear. However, there is a single one for which they grow: if they are ignored.

Acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it. By acknowledging a problem, its consequences and the risks of letting it grow will become clear and therefore urgent. This will lead you to act immediately. By ignoring a problem, instead, you deprive yourself of the very fuel you need to act.