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You said:
A non-farmer once asked me, “How much can your pig eat?” I told him I didn’t know because I’ve never seen him full.
ChatGPT said:
The Pig, the Farmer, and the Enabler
When someone asks, “How much can your pig eat?” and you say, “I don’t know — I’ve never seen him full,” it points to more than appetite.
It points to the role of the one doing the feeding.
A pig eats without limit because someone keeps filling the trough.
That’s the essence of enabling.
1. Enablers Remove Natural Limits
In life, “pigs” come in many forms:
- A child who overspends because a parent always rescues him
- An adult who avoids responsibility because someone else covers for her
- A friend who keeps making the same mistakes because nobody tells them “no”
- A coworker whose poor performance continues because others do their job for them
If the trough keeps getting filled, the appetite stays bottomless.
2. Enablers Think They’re Helping — But They’re Not
Farmers feed pigs for good reasons.
Enablers “feed” people for reasons that feel good:
- avoiding conflict
- wanting to be needed
- fear of rejection
- trying to fix everything
- not wanting someone to struggle
But the result is the same:
the pig never learns how much it actually needs.
3. The Pig’s Appetite Is Natural — The Overfeeding Is Optional
Some people simply have:
- endless demands
- endless excuses
- endless crises
- endless dependencies
Their “appetite” isn’t the surprising part.
What matters is whether the trough is bottomless or not.
You can’t always change a person’s appetite.
But you can stop delivering endless loads of corn.
4. The Real Wisdom: Fullness Isn’t Possible When Someone Else Keeps Pouring
An enabler can unintentionally create the very problem they’re trying to solve:
- giving too much
- rescuing too quickly
- tolerating too long
- supporting without boundaries
It’s the same principle:
If you’re waiting for the pig to say “I’ve had enough,” you’ll be feeding forever.
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