How to Pet a Porcupine

I discovered something new in a staff meeting a few weeks ago, and that is that you can pet a porcupine without getting hurt. I have never actually pet a porcupine, but I was told it is possible without a follow-up trip the hospital, if you do it correctly.

Porcupine

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/arthur_chapman/3986448936/

If you want to pet a porcupine without getting stuck by a bunch of quills you don’t run up and startle it.  You don’t quickly scoop it up into your hands and give it a big hug.  If you want to pet a porcupine you have to develop trust with it.  First, you hold out your hand to see if it wants to come near and sniff you. Only after it sniffs you can you pet it, but you have to do it a certain way starting at the head and petting down.  To pet a porcupine any other way could potentially hurt…a lot.

Some people are a lot like porcupines. They have quills, and they will stick you if you handle them the wrong way.    You know the kind of people I am talking about, they tend to be a bit grouchy, pessimistic, standoffish and avoid personal contact, have a tendency to complain and point out the bad in a situation, etc…  These people tend to be a lot like porcupines.  If you run up and startle them you’re going to get hurt.  If you try to pressure them into doing something you’re going to get hurt.  If you cross their path in a way they don’t like, start looking for the nearest hospital.

To pet one of these porcupines requires developing trust just like a real porcupine. No, holding out your hand to see if they sniff you is probably not the best way to go about it, but spending time getting to know them is.  Learning about their perspective, their past, their priorities can give you insight in how best to go about working and getting along with them.  Taking the time to building trust with can go a very long way, and save you a lot of pain in the end.  Just as I am sure petting a real porcupine is an amazing experience, I know that getting someone who is a bit prickly on your side can be just as fulfilling.

Also, for those who are pastors of churches and have opportunity to work with porcupines, the reality is that they are also sheep in need of a good shepherd. They can’t simply be dismissed. You can’t just steer clear of them like you might a real porcupine in the wild. You have to learn to pet them.  You have to learn to lead them. So you might as well do it the right way, and save yourself some pain.

Posted on
Category: Leadership

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply to Kypit diplom lubogo yniversiteta!_biMr Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

262,410 thoughts on “How to Pet a Porcupine”

  7. Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely happy I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

    Reply

  10. Строительный сайт https://vitamax.dp.ua с полезными материалами о ремонте, дизайне и современных технологиях. Обзоры стройматериалов, инструкции по монтажу, проекты домов и советы экспертов.

    Reply

  12. Hey there I am so delighted I found your site, I really found you by mistake, while I was looking on Yahoo for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a incredible post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the fantastic b.

    Reply

  17. В экстренной ситуации на фоне алкоголя — обращайтесь к скорой помощи Narcology Clinic в Москве. Качественный выезд нарколога, медицинская поддержка, нейтрализация последствий и помощь в восстановлении.
    Узнать больше – срочная наркологическая помощь москве

    Reply

  22. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

    Reply

  25. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?

    Reply

  29. Строительный сайт https://vitamax.dp.ua с полезными материалами о ремонте, дизайне и современных технологиях. Обзоры стройматериалов, инструкции по монтажу, проекты домов и советы экспертов.

    Reply

  32. Новости Украины https://gromrady.org.ua в реальном времени. Экономика, политика, общество, культура, происшествия и спорт. Всё самое важное и интересное на одном портале.

    Reply

  47. I’ve been surfing on-line greater than 3 hours these days, but I by no means found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty price sufficient for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made excellent content material as you did, the web shall be much more helpful than ever before.

    Reply

  48. Современный автопортал https://automobile.kyiv.ua свежие новости, сравнительные обзоры, тесты, автострахование и обслуживание. Полезная информация для водителей и покупателей.

    Reply