I recently got two gorgeous little puppies, and even though I’m already a dog owner, it has been quite the learning curve. It has really taught me some important lessons. Not just about dog ownership, but about all sorts of things. This time it’s about letting go.
At the moment I’m teaching them pups recall! This is where I let them off the lead on dog walks and hope & pray they come back!
I am late to the party doing this! They are 6 months old.
Worried about letting go
I haven’t done it because I was worried that they would run off and not come back! Just run off down the road!
What if they got run over, or they didn’t come back?!
It was worry, fear and doubt that were taking a grip of me! But with good reason, as I had evidence of this! Dougy had run off already, escaping out the front door and running off down the road just 1 month prior.
I was calling his name but he just looked back and continued to run away. Luckily my neighbour was up the road and managed to catch him. Oh my, my heart was in my mouth and all I could think was what if the worst had happened?
Trying something new
It’s only when my fiance Phil gently suggested we go to a quiet park where there are no roads and distractions such as people & dogs, where we could really try and let the dogs off the leads. He wanted to see them running and having fun with the 2 older dogs!
And yes that was a lovely image I had in my head and I wanted that too.
But I’m telling you, I wasn’t happy about it.
But I knew I had to let go, and the sooner the better.
Once I had overcome the fear of the worst thing happening, I imagined them being off the lead, exploring, sniffing, running and playing with the older dogs, and them coming back to us. This was visualising at its best!
And do you know what? That’s exactly what happened!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I breathed properly till they were back on the lead! But it was a great first step.
The next step. Practising off-lead at our local park. There were some scary moments! Dougy managed to slip thru a gate into a back garden, having a good old sniff. But he came back. Dolly ran off chasing a crow, way down the park, but she came back too!
So now it’s just practice and creating new habits and behaviours. Until they become the new norm.
This got me thinking.
It’s really like having your own business. Everything is new! And if you are not careful this worry fear and doubt will cripple your progress and dreams!
So this is why I wanted to tell you my story of letting go……
Lovingly letting go of:
- Worry fear and doubt
- The thoughts that don’t serve you
- Old beliefs and programming
- Those time-consuming tasks that you can delegate
- Relationships that don’t serve you well
- Anything that doesn’t bring you joy
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