Just like the fact that the little bugger will engage you for hours during the day, but elude your best attempts to grab hold of him as soon as it is time to get him in the hutch, we both find ourselves at the end of university struggling to grasp what seemed so easily within our reach during our time there.
Catching Kenco is out of the question - we learned that in the first few months of owning him. Our technique (no doubt hilarious to the neighbours overlooking the garden) is to poke him out the bushes with a sweeping brush and then continue to brush it behind him, ushering him like a sheepdog until he gives up the chase and hops inside for the night.
Blundering around in the semi-darkness with inappropriate tools in search of a wily and elusive target seems an apt comparison when we consider our current employment prospects. Chris is new to job-hunting. I have plenty of experience which has left me rather jaded, and neither of us could say with confidence that we are close to achieving our dreams. Unsure of exactly how to fulfill the mystifying and obscure criteria of your average employer feels all-too-similar to chasing our furry nemesis around the back garden.
Kenco spends the whole night sat bolt-upright at his door, looking out at 'his' garden, and waiting indignantly for you to come and let him out first thing tomorrow morning. Maybe something about this reflects how you can't relax even once you've bagged any job, nevermind the dream job. You've not completed it like you would any other difficult task. What you've rounded into the cage must be permanently sustained with being impressive / useful / worth the wage. You can't shut the door on that achievement, no matter how much of an achievement it is, and then there's your superiors overlooking you for, well, ever. If I imagine putting the rabbit away, and then having to guard the entrance to his hutch with my hands throughout the night, the prospect is infuriating and exhausting. But keeping a job is kind of just that, in slow motion.
The trick to catching Kenco seems to demand something similar to the requirements we need to achieve our true goals. if you go outside half-heartedly you will never catch him, and the broom alone is not enough to round him up. To be a successful rabbit-wrangler requires purpose and skill. There should be little time wasted once stepping outside, as you are now in your target's territory, but rushing in gun-ho will rarely lead to success. Rather, careful planning and consideration of your next few moves are vital. Once a plan is determined, act with intention, as hesitation will be sensed as weakness by the prey. The specific skills required to achieve your goal should always be given due attention and practice to ensure repeated success rather than fluke victory. In this scenario, wranglers should familiarise themselves with The Scruff Crane, where one grabs the thick skin located behind the rabbit's ears and lifts, supporting its rump with your other hand. It can't be felt by the rabbit, who should seem content to dangle wherever you plan on taking him.
If you do have a real goal, try not to lose sight of it in light of other circumstances. A fresh approach or a new perspective is often useful, as is setting realistic goals and actually acquiring the knowledge/skills/information you need to achieve them.
