During a coaching session, a client stopped to yell at her dog, who had left the allowable range of his radio collar and chased after a squirrel.  The threat of a zap from the collar had not deterred him from going after something enticing and interesting.

Everything in front of me is fodder for coaching, even stray dogs and radio collars.  So I asked the client to play with this metaphor. She replied, "The yard that my dogs are allowed to roam in is like my company. I’m like the dog that is afraid to leave the yard for fear of being zapped. The other dog, has thick fur so maybe she doesn’t feel the zap and she’s willing to leave the yard."

Then I asked, "What do you think was the underlying pull for the other dog to leave?"  On reflection, she replied, "Curiosity, natural instinct, intrigue."

Some of us have thick fur or the pull far outweighs the pain of being zapped. Some of us fear the zap and continue to stay in the yard.