Take Care of Yourself, So You Can Continue Taking Care of Others

Being a helper, you are a heart centered practitioner.

You are motivated by your value of service to support those who are struggling, overwhelmed and feeling utter despair about their situation.

Your innate ability to empathize and uphold your clients’ best interest is a tenant to your service provision.

Stories being shared with you about tragedy, pain and heartbreak are whispered to you because someone else trusts you to hold space for them out of love, kindness and compassion.

What about you?

How do you take care of yourself when you are wading in troubled waters alongside your client?

Taking care of you is a necessity.

It’s putting on the oxygen mask before stepping in to helping someone else.

Receiving your own support through therapy and coaching guides you to see things you may be too close to to see.

For instance, I was speaking with one of my coaches this week about some choices I was considering. What she reflected back to me was how my face curled up and my eyes squinted in disgust when I spoke about choice A.

Even though my brain was rationalizing going with it, my body had a different response.

Receiving this reflection of how my body clearly said no, was such a gift to me. It gave me clarity on what to do with choice A.

Movement is another powerful way to connect back with yourself. This doesn’t have to be high impact (it can also be!). Dancing, singing, walking around barefoot in the grass (one of my client’s favorite things to do). Throw on a favorite song and have a dance party on a Tuesday afternoon!

I’m a runner and I treasure how the body mind connection shows up on every run. I gain insight into questions I have for myself and the miles reveal the answers. Afterward, my body feels lighter and more content because I gave it the space I needed to clear out cobwebs and allow more ideas to come in.

If you feel those options aren’t in your reach, you also have your breath.

Breath is involuntary movement, it is life itself. You have it every moment of every day.

Becoming aware of your breath and feeling your body rise with each inhale and fall with each exhale, you are in the moment and honoring yourself.

Another client of mine shared how she goes back to the box breathing exercise I shared with her.

I’ll share here.

Find a comfortable seat or lay down and close your eyes, if you feel safe to do so, or just look down towards the ground.

Take a deep inhale through your nose and out through your mouth.

On your next inhale, breath in from your nose for a count of four, hold at the top for a count of two and breath out through your nose for a count of 4 and hold at the bottom for a count of two and repeat.

Feel free to repeat for 5-7 seven breaths.

Observe how your body feels through each inhale and exhale. What shows up for you?

Journal, share with a trusted friend who has your best interest or a colleague who can also relate to what you’re going through.

Connection to others starts with connection with ourselves.

Share your thoughts in the comments below, feel free to send me a message it it feels too vulnerable to be seen right now.

You’re worth it to be seen and heard.

As my dad would often say, “take it slow”

I find myself sharing with my clients wise words from my father, “take it slow” when they want to rush to get the skill learning done, they want to move on to the next thing or they overbook themselves leaving them feeling frustrated when their dog “isn’t getting it.”

What do you receive from rushing around?

Do you receive feeling frantic, not meeting your expectations of your already overloaded schedule, inconsistent routine with your dog which only exacerbates your dog practicing habits that aren’t healthy?

What keeps you in the struggle are your outdated patterns and beliefs that if you “have time to lean, you have time to clean” mentality.

The idea that every hour of your day has to be filled with “things to do” so you can go to bed exhausted and then do it all over again.

What if, you made the choice to prioritize taking things slow?

By slowing down and being present and in the moment, you create more space and time for yourself and your dog.

You begin to experience living in the moment like your dog gets to do everyday.

Your dog can guide you into doing the same for yourself, living presently and with awareness of what each moment brings.

You get to become proactive versus reacting to what’s showing up.

You are able to experience joy, connection and ease when you prioritize what you value the most, spending time with the people and the animals you love, trust and find solace in their presence.

I invite you to see how you can take a moment today in spending time with your dog and yourself and experience what sensations show up for you both when you take things slow.

Did you observe any shifts?

Feel free to share in the comments or send me a message!

What’s Holding You Back?

You’re in tears because your beloved dog bit you, not once, but several times.

Your entire family is angry and mistrusts your dog. They don’t even want to go near him.

You’re now recognizing that manhandling and overpowering your dog isn’t working and see how detrimental this way of life is for everyone involved, including your dog.

You’re wanting to do things differently, but you feel you’ve been moving in the wrong direction for years.

At the heart of the matter, you desire to trust and have confidence in yourself to make the change.

You’re hesitant.

The leap of faith rests on your willingness to believe in what you can achieve.

It first starts with trust.

Are you willing to trust yourself?

Trust in yourself that you can heal your relationship with your dog.

Trust in committing to creating new habits and receiving support from a professional behavior consultant who is there for you and your dog.

Are you willing to put aside the old ideas of dogs needing to be “dominated” and “controlled” and show your dog kindness through a gentler approach?

Being stuck in this space of not wanting to go backward, but nervous and uncertain about moving forward is your crossroads.

Where will you go from here?

The only way you’ll build confidence is by taking action.

You certainly can do this on your own, but receiving support can help you get to where you want to go more efficiently and effectively even through you and your dog’s growth cycles of learning.

What do you want to do?

If you’re willing to take the leap of faith on yourself, set up your Discovery Call.