Once a farmer from Michigan came to me. “I have a completely uncontrollable character,” he said. “If I lose my temper, I can slap anyone in the face who is at hand. My wife and I got it more than once. And how many slaps I gave to my daughters and sons — do not count. This is my character, I don’t control myself.”
“You have a farm in Michigan,” I remarked. How is your house heated? What do you cook food on?” “The stove on our farm is fired with wood. In winter, it serves for heating. We cook on it.» “Where do you get fuel?” I asked. “I have a large piece of forest,” the farmer replied. “And what do you have for fuel?” I asked. “When oak, when ash. But the elm is not worth it, it is so difficult to chop it for firewood.”
“So, from now on, you will only eat elms,” I ordered. “When you cut the elm and cut it into pieces, you have to drive the ax into the block over and over again to split it in half along the entire length. This is a terribly unyielding tree. Splitting one elm block is like splitting a dozen oak trees. So, when you feel that another moment — and you break loose, grab an ax and take this damn block and let the accumulated steam out. I know what it’s like to prick an elm — you can’t imagine a more terrible task. So he discharged himself on his elm logs.
Siegfried: I have a question. You give examples where people always carry out your suggestions and with great inspiration, which cannot be said about my patients. (Laughter) It seems to me that in many cases they don’t feel like doing what they’re told.
Erickson: So my family asks, “Why do your patients do all these idiotic tasks that you give them?” I answer them: “I speak to them very seriously. And they understand that I really believe in what I say. I am extremely sincere. I have no doubt that they will follow my instructions. I don’t even have such a thought: “Are they really going to do such nonsense?” No, I know they will do anything.”