On the nights when I have insomnia, I sometimes watch “The Dog Whisperer” with Cesar Milan. I find it very interesting and often see parallels with how we are as humans. One parallel that always strikes me is the need for us to be our own “calm and assertive pack leader”, which I think is another way of saying “be your own best friend”.
In one episode, I watched how Cesar dealt with a dog which was in attack mode. He didn’t pull the dog back, but rather he pulled the dog sharply sideways. He said that if you pull a dog back, it just creates resistance and more determination in the dog to accomplish its current mission. On the other hand, pulling the dog to the side changes its state of mind altogether.
I thought about how similar it is for humans. How do you react when someone tries to pull you back from something you want to do? If you are like most of us, you react like the dog and become more determined to accomplish your existing goal.
Very often with my clients, I notice that they try to solve whatever their challenge of the moment is by doing a slightly different version of what they did the day before. A little tweak here and there, but rarely making a radical change. This is because they continue to look from the same point of view rather than changing their perspective.
Clients often tell me that the greatest gift they experience when working with me is that their point of view is radically altered, like seeing from a helicopter after being stuck in the forest forever. A different viewpoint automatically yields different solutions.
I recently watched a most enlightening video about the current state of the planet and where our present trajectory will take us. The speaker, Chris Turner, states the reasons he thinks humanity is at a turning point, and where we will be if we keep doing what we are doing. But then he describes the exciting future we can create if we are able to take off the blinders that we have worn since the industrial revolution and make a radical leap sideways to a different plan altogether. His vision is hopeful and inspiring, and you can check it out at this link:
Change in the world and in our personal lives may be possible if we explore different points of view, and that exploration can be a great adventure. As Helen Keller said, “Life is either a grand adventure, or nothing at all.”
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