The Freedom of the Animal Spirit

If you think about how complex your day can become, it can be overwhelming. Constantly having to juggle personalities and trying to figure out how to attend to a variety of needs is a way of life for us all—especially for those who work from home.

There have been many times where I’ve been on the phone with a client and one of my kids needs my attention. My rule has been unless you are bleeding, choking or someone is dying don’t ask while I’m with the client. So, as they pantomime or write down their needs while I’m nodding and speaking with a client, I can end up feeling like the room is spinning by days end. Sound familiar?

The funny thing is that it doesn’t have to always be this complicated. Sometimes in a business (or personal situation) you try extremely hard to make your point or hammer home your ideas, when it doesn’t have to be this stressful. Of course being assertive and an authority on what you do is important; however learning to let go and allow the other party to be him- or herself will probably take you farther in the long run.

As basic as this may sound, I’ve learned a lot from my new dog, Mabel. I picked her up last Wednesday and was ready to deal with a new personality. I’ve heard that putting two female dogs together is never a good idea, especially when you have one as dominant as my Alley.

So I did some reading and mentally readied myself for anything. During their initial meeting, I could sense Alley’s body language was a little tense, whereas Mabel seemed to be laid back and open. Interestingly, it only took five short minutes for the two Labs to start running and playing. In fact, they spooned the entire three and a half hour trip home from Orlando.

Since bringing Mabel into our lives I’ve seen how open and pure she is not only with my dog but with everyone. In fact, most dogs are open and pure. They smell (of course it’s gross because they are butt smellers) each other, recognize they are both dogs and get over it all. There are no egos (although I believe some dogs DO have bigger egos), no “mind games” (probably because they have smaller brains…but still) and just open honesty.

Mabel approaches every new person with trepidation, however. She will initially bark and put her tail between her legs but within minutes she is ready to play and snuggle.

I need to remember how my dogs interact with each other when I have to deal with a difficult client or during one of my daily juggling acts.

You just need to stop, breath and relax….