Starting to Shift

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Dogs and Men podcast. I am glad you're here. This is the show where you learn to let your dog lead. Lead you back to love.

She Shooby dooby dooby doo, what? Blah, blah, blah. But hey, oh, do you feel something shifting? Or maybe you just want something to shift? I really, really wanted to get into this today. So let's, let's get into that. What? What does it take for you to change? How do you create change in your life? Let's back up just a second. Where are you? In your life? What does it seem like you are missing? What does it seem like you don't have that you want? How would you go about getting that thing or creating that situation that you think you want? Well, you could go hard, you could go all in, you could do the big new year's resolution style, right? When you make this commitment, and I'm going to change, I'm going to do this huge thing. I'm going to the gym four days a week, you do it the first week, you might even do it the second week or the third week, how you might make a month. And then something occurs, a different kind of shift and shift back towards your old patterns. Maybe, I don't know, something came up and I couldn't go that day. But I'm still going three days a week. And you do that for a couple of weeks. And then something else comes up. And you're able to justify or make an excuse as to why you only went two days a week. And before you know it, you you're not going to the gym anymore. And we can rationalize it and justify anything.

So what happens, what happens there we are not able to repattern ourselves this quickly. It is very difficult to just do it under will power alone. It can be done for short periods of time. And it you know, if you've got someone riding your patootie all the time, then you can sustain that even longer. But to create lasting change for ourselves, I think you have to start small. So there's a concept that I got from Sharla and Jesse Jacobs, who were there amazing business builders for holistic practitioners and coaches. And what Charlotte said was that to repattern, or to begin to make lasting change, you only need to make a one degree shift. So think about that 360 degrees on a compass. And you only make this one tiny little change just one shift towards another direction. So what does that look like? That looks like something that is simple. That looks like something that is way more manageable. So you do this one little thing, you do that for a while. And what you're doing is training yourself to realize that you can create change, you can make shifts, so you make this one little shift. And afterwards, think you know what, that was pretty, okay, I can do this. And then you make another one degree shift, then you can make another one degree shift. Before you know it, you've repattern yourself, you've taught yourself that you're safe, that you're okay that you can do something different. So that's fantastic. That is absolutely phenomenal. And we're taught a lot in this society to push, push, push, and make things happen. Well, internet effect, that's true, but the timing and the speed with which people crave or are used to getting things. It doesn't work for us internally as far as lasting change.

So now is a great time to ask yourself, How can I create this change for myself? What are things that I can do? That are manageable, small shifts to get started, right? And then you can always build on this. What's one little thing? Let's let's take your dog for instance. So most of us, when we go to walk our dog will go the same direction When will come out the front door will go down to the sidewalk will turn right and go around the block or whatever that way. We do it over and over and over again. Well, what if you went down, out the front door down the sidewalk and turn left. And you discovered this other way, now your dog might be pulling to the right, because you've always gone to the right. But just imagine what you might notice or might see if you went left. So you know your neighborhood, but there's things you don't pay attention to just because they're just there and you drive right on by or you walk right on by. So now you're going towards a different place, your dog is going to pick up new and different smells. Because other people are the same, right? They go the same places the same ways. They're habituated and pattern to do the same things over and over. But now you've just shifted something for you and your dog. And the potential is freaking fantastic. So you go left, you're cruising down the block, your dog is excited, there's new smells. Now maybe he or she is polling, because we're so excited because there's new smells. So there's new things to take in, pay attention to that. Pay attention to what your dog is actually doing. I mean, maybe they get locked in on some. And they're just they're sniffing in the same spot. And they're sniffing and they're sniffing. I used to joke at Darby that he was writing a novel, you know, are we getting ready to write a novel because you'd be stuck in this one's pocket or something there? Go over and look, I'm not saying get on all fours, and you know, taste, whatever, they're licking, get your face into the grass or whatever. But just be curious. You know, notice what's going on around you. Maybe your neighbor painted their front door, oh, I hadn't noticed that you just drive by and you don't look, you know, we have these plexiglass blinders on is half the time, we're going by and things just appear and then disappear. And we don't notice them. They just fly right on by.

Now, I'm not saying you know, head on a swivel and run in your neighbor's Park car, because you're looking to things but just start to notice other things around you. Things that you don't pay attention to. Because you're so focused on what you've always done, you know, and another thing guys, please put your phone away. Don't take your dog for a walk and be messing around on your phone and talking to a friend. You can do that sometimes. But if you do these short walks, and just notice what your dog is paying attention to, you might find some really freaking cool benefits. So now you you've gone left, you guys are doing something else you're seeing other things. That's pretty cool. Maybe you run into someone who hadn't seen in a while imagine, oh, wow, strike up a conversation. Maybe you meet someone you've never met before and you strike up a conversation, this one tiny shift this one day going out the door and going a different direction. You have no idea what the possible benefits could be from this. So think about that. Ponder that. What is possible? What is possible from this one little shift. Maybe you don't have a place great place to walk by your house maybe or maybe you'd like to take your dog on hikes, or to the dog park or whatever. Go to a different place. We have our favorites we like like familiarity because it's comfortable. But try something different. Just one little thing. You know, you don't have to leave Denver and drive to Casper, Wyoming just to walk your dog. But maybe try something different, a different area, a different place a different time of day. Right. So like myself, I typically walk my dog first thing in the morning. And those of you who know me or have listened to me before know that I love this time of day. It's quiet. A lot of the world is sleeping. People are starting to move and get out a little bit. But I love going early.

But I'll mix it up. I'll sometimes I'll let her decide where we go. And I'll ask her which way you want to go and whatever she does a follow up. Sometimes I'll decide but then I may mix it up again, right? Instead of doing this one loop, I'll do part of it and then we'll change. So it's fascinating what you begin to notice. You start to notice all kinds of things. But you have to want to write Can you just stare at your feet drawn in on step step step. So try this out. make one little shift, and then make one more tiny little shift. Maybe brush your teeth with your other hand tomorrow. Woohoo. Getting all crazy. Anyway. All right, guys. I'm gonna catch you soon. You have a fantastic day. If you liked the episode, please subscribe, like, share or not love you