Part of the reason I am trying to take a vacation is because I seem to have lost the joy in a lot of what I do. I haven't painted since last spring and I haven't really taken time to train my dogs in anything new in probably close to a year. I need to take a step back and find what makes me passionate again.
This past week I spent some time redesigning my puppy kindergarten class that I instruct and I am super super super excited about the result! What got me excited to start was that, though I am taking a general group class instruction break for a while, I have 4 students who all have long range training goals and new puppies that I very much wanted to be a part of their lives. So I decided that despite my break I would teach 1 group puppy class for them and I was going to do everything in this class that I love doing with my own puppies and with the service dog puppies I teach that I know aids in creating happy, confident, well-adjusted puppies. The goal is not obedience, the goal is creating confident, happy puppies through planned, progressive, positive exposures to everything imaginable.
The end result of my redesign is an 8 week long class called Puppy Smart Start for puppies age 8wks through 16wks that involves a multitude of self-control and imprint exercises, positive exposures to all sorts of people, surfaces, noises, objects and places, yes we get to take puppy class field trips!!!! I am super excited about the whole class! Especially the field trips!!
My goal at the end of the class is to have 4 puppies who I never have to see in my behavior portion of my job for a fear based behavior problem. I want these puppies to be ones who when something frightening comes their way go, "Way cool!! Look at this mom/dad! Let me go check it out!! Awesome!!" That's my goal and god willing I'm going to reach it!
My dogs, then and now, always by my side.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
vacation? what's a vacation?
Earlier this week I made the decision to try to slow down a bit and take some time off in the next couple of months. Do more things with my own dogs, find the joy in what I do again, you know, have some fun. It's all well and good to say it, but, oi, me actually doing that is a whole 'nother animal as this week has proved. Too many self-appointed projects that I become immersed in for hours and days on end. I'm exhausted! Really what I need is to send my laptop on a vacation to somewhere far, far away! LOL
Today though I made my own version of this curry chicken pot pie. OMG AWESOME!! I want to eat the whole thing NOW and it is taking considerable self-restraint to not! My version used no coconut of any kind, but millet, buckwheat and tapioca flours instead, soy free earth balance and rice milk. My version also used no onions, zucchini or raisins and the root vegetables I chose were sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips. I had really wanted to try turnips but the only ones the grocery store had today were coated in wax, ewe!! I am so looking forward to the meals this will make in the coming days and will probably make batch #2 as soon as I finish the 1st!
Today though I made my own version of this curry chicken pot pie. OMG AWESOME!! I want to eat the whole thing NOW and it is taking considerable self-restraint to not! My version used no coconut of any kind, but millet, buckwheat and tapioca flours instead, soy free earth balance and rice milk. My version also used no onions, zucchini or raisins and the root vegetables I chose were sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips. I had really wanted to try turnips but the only ones the grocery store had today were coated in wax, ewe!! I am so looking forward to the meals this will make in the coming days and will probably make batch #2 as soon as I finish the 1st!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Crock pot chicken- OMG so good!!
I generally don't eat chicken because I don't really like it unless prepared in ways that are so far off my list now it's not even funny, but yesterday I got the notion to try roasting a chicken in the crock pot. So bright and early yesterday morning Tom and I set off to Shaws to get a chicken and other ingredients and this morning I made it in time for lunch. WOW did it come out good!! And the simplest thing is tonight, over night, I'm going to make soup stock in the crock pot so I can have chicken and millet soup all week which I DO like! YAY!
Crock pot Chicken:
1 ~5# whole chicken
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼” pieces
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced into ¼” pieces
Ms Dash’s original season blend, salt free
Sea salt to taste
Wash and pat dry with paper towel the whole chicken (remove gizzards!!)
Stuff cavity with some of the carrots and parsnips
Sprinkle generous amount of Ms Dash and some salt on the chicken
Place chicken breast side up in crock pot
Arrange remainder of carrots and parsnips on top and also sprinkle with Mrs Dash
Cover crockpot and cook on low for 8hrs or high for 4hrs, do not remove the lid, just let it cook!
After crock pot time is up, take chicken and veggies in the crock pot pan and put the whole thing in oven set at 350’F for 20min to crisp the skin
Remove from oven, take chicken out of drippings and put on plate and let rest for 10min (chicken will be falling off the bone tender)
Cut up and enjoy! :-)
Thoughts on autism
The more self aware and in tune to my body I become the more I realize just how severe the discord is between what an environment that my system would thrive in would be like compared to current modern reality. It really makes me stop and wonder if the techno crazed world we have created for ourselves is really the driving force behind the upsurge in sensory problems for so many people.
I have been contemplating lately what exactly I would have to do to make my environment truly "sensory friendly" and address the underlying and overwhelming fatigue that I live with. And the solution I repeatedly come back to is- eliminate as many man-made processes, objects and services as possible. My CNS really entirely hates humanity's created artificial world.
TV and radio I eliminated years ago. Lights, at home, I rarely turn on and when I do they are incandescent, never florescent. The dishwasher I never even remember is an option since I never turn it on. The washer and dryer are in the basement, but still there are days when even that is an issue. Ideally I would need to take it further- unplug the fridge, cancel my phone service, unplug the modem and toss out the computer. Move to a street with low traffic and a house very far off the beaten path, most likely in the middle of the woods. Avoid traveling in the car or on public transit, some boat travel would be ok if it was row or sail, no motorized travel.
That's the world I would need to create to truly tackle the fatigue I live with. And that's a pretty tall order. Maybe someday I'll get there, guess it depends on how tired I really get and what other costs become associated with it, but right now it's not a new reality I'm willing to accept or really consider.
It does though make me think a lot about families with autistic children and how much the parents really understand the ramifications that technology are having on their kid's behavior and ability to function. I was very lucky in my childhood, my parent's unwittingly created a very low sensory stimulation for their children at home. TV time was limited to 30min a day, we read lots of books, played lots of board games and were kicked outdoors to have fun on a daily and very regular basis. We didn't have gameboy or Nintendo, a computer didn't enter the house until I was nearly a teenager and then it didn't have internet for a few years more. Life was sensory simple and that is probably a large driving factor on why no one figured out I was autistic at a young age. Just makes me wonder, how many problems we are creating for ourselves and our children with the plugged-in to tech, instead of plugged-in to nature, world we have devised.
I have been contemplating lately what exactly I would have to do to make my environment truly "sensory friendly" and address the underlying and overwhelming fatigue that I live with. And the solution I repeatedly come back to is- eliminate as many man-made processes, objects and services as possible. My CNS really entirely hates humanity's created artificial world.
TV and radio I eliminated years ago. Lights, at home, I rarely turn on and when I do they are incandescent, never florescent. The dishwasher I never even remember is an option since I never turn it on. The washer and dryer are in the basement, but still there are days when even that is an issue. Ideally I would need to take it further- unplug the fridge, cancel my phone service, unplug the modem and toss out the computer. Move to a street with low traffic and a house very far off the beaten path, most likely in the middle of the woods. Avoid traveling in the car or on public transit, some boat travel would be ok if it was row or sail, no motorized travel.
That's the world I would need to create to truly tackle the fatigue I live with. And that's a pretty tall order. Maybe someday I'll get there, guess it depends on how tired I really get and what other costs become associated with it, but right now it's not a new reality I'm willing to accept or really consider.
It does though make me think a lot about families with autistic children and how much the parents really understand the ramifications that technology are having on their kid's behavior and ability to function. I was very lucky in my childhood, my parent's unwittingly created a very low sensory stimulation for their children at home. TV time was limited to 30min a day, we read lots of books, played lots of board games and were kicked outdoors to have fun on a daily and very regular basis. We didn't have gameboy or Nintendo, a computer didn't enter the house until I was nearly a teenager and then it didn't have internet for a few years more. Life was sensory simple and that is probably a large driving factor on why no one figured out I was autistic at a young age. Just makes me wonder, how many problems we are creating for ourselves and our children with the plugged-in to tech, instead of plugged-in to nature, world we have devised.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
training, guide work and other things
The concept of "sometimes" often comes up when I'm talking to students about dog training and it's a trap I fall into myself upon occasion. How dogs have a challenge understanding that grey area that comes about with sometimes, sometimes getting on the couch is ok, sometimes it's not. Sometimes sitting ignoring you when you ask me to sit is ok, sometimes it's not. Sometimes pulling on the lead is allowed, sometimes it's not. "Sometimes."
People put a lot of value it seems into "sometimes" when it comes to behavior and then like to make value judgements when their dog behaves exactly as they have trained him to with the sometimes criteria. "He knows how to sit! He's just being stubborn!" No, you have not been consistent with follow through on teaching your dog to generalize 'sit' and also with being consistent on follow through that a sit, is a sit, is a sit, all the time.
For example with Tom lately, I hadn't quite realized just how "sometimes" my asking him to reliably clear right side obstacles had become. Sometimes it was ok for him to brush me up against a bush, sometimes it was not. This sometimes criteria caused, over a few months, Tom to begin to disregard that right side obstacles needed any clearance at all, an understanding of his that I didn't quite realize until on a walk the other day 4 things in a row he plowed me into, a couple of which hurt! Was Tom being deliberately sloppy or lazy or a bad guide dog? No, he was doing exactly as I had trained him. My criteria and definition of what "right side obstacle clearance" meant was sloppy, grey and "sometimes." It wasn't consistent and wasn't clear to Tom exactly what I wanted, I am the one who taught him to disregard right clearances, it wasn't Tom's fault in the least!
So, I shored up my definition of what I wanted Tom to understand, we reworked the obstacles in that moment and since I have been very consistent with him on what exactly I'd like him to do when we approach a right side obstacle. Since my definition has now become concrete, Tom has been spot on and he has had a much easier time of successfully doing what I want him to do.
Dogs generally think in the concrete terms of- this behavior works or it doesn't work. "Sometimes it works" doesn't really make sense to them. Having a criteria of "sometimes it works" just creates a dog who is an eternal optimist. A dog who says, "This worked on a sometimes, ie random to the dog, basis and I really enjoyed that it worked, so I am going to be eternally hopeful that it will work again and keep trying." Ergo in the dog's mind it really a behavior that "works," he just doesn't know exactly when it will again, so much like a gambler at the penny slots, he will continuously be hopeful that if he keeps at it, he'll "win" once again.
People put a lot of value it seems into "sometimes" when it comes to behavior and then like to make value judgements when their dog behaves exactly as they have trained him to with the sometimes criteria. "He knows how to sit! He's just being stubborn!" No, you have not been consistent with follow through on teaching your dog to generalize 'sit' and also with being consistent on follow through that a sit, is a sit, is a sit, all the time.
For example with Tom lately, I hadn't quite realized just how "sometimes" my asking him to reliably clear right side obstacles had become. Sometimes it was ok for him to brush me up against a bush, sometimes it was not. This sometimes criteria caused, over a few months, Tom to begin to disregard that right side obstacles needed any clearance at all, an understanding of his that I didn't quite realize until on a walk the other day 4 things in a row he plowed me into, a couple of which hurt! Was Tom being deliberately sloppy or lazy or a bad guide dog? No, he was doing exactly as I had trained him. My criteria and definition of what "right side obstacle clearance" meant was sloppy, grey and "sometimes." It wasn't consistent and wasn't clear to Tom exactly what I wanted, I am the one who taught him to disregard right clearances, it wasn't Tom's fault in the least!
So, I shored up my definition of what I wanted Tom to understand, we reworked the obstacles in that moment and since I have been very consistent with him on what exactly I'd like him to do when we approach a right side obstacle. Since my definition has now become concrete, Tom has been spot on and he has had a much easier time of successfully doing what I want him to do.
Dogs generally think in the concrete terms of- this behavior works or it doesn't work. "Sometimes it works" doesn't really make sense to them. Having a criteria of "sometimes it works" just creates a dog who is an eternal optimist. A dog who says, "This worked on a sometimes, ie random to the dog, basis and I really enjoyed that it worked, so I am going to be eternally hopeful that it will work again and keep trying." Ergo in the dog's mind it really a behavior that "works," he just doesn't know exactly when it will again, so much like a gambler at the penny slots, he will continuously be hopeful that if he keeps at it, he'll "win" once again.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Fun with Shaping
For the past number of months I've been working with a teenage girl who aspires to be a dog trainer. Lately we've been working on the concepts of clicker training and shaping behavior and I give her challenges to shape Niche and Monty to do. It's really fun and amazing to watch how differently the 2 dogs learn.
Niche has been clicker trained since I got him at age 8wks. His idea of "training" is fast, intense and to throw out every single thing he could possible think might earn him a click all in about the span of a half second. With Niche the challenge is precision because he moves so quickly and forcefully that one has to be spot on in order to get him to do something crisply. Getting Niche to hold the same behavior for a prolonged period of time is also a challenge. The easy thing about Niche is that he is a work-a-holic. It takes a lot to make Niche quit.
Monty, on the other hand, has had very little shaping experience. When we 1st started working with Monty on these exercises the behavior he liked to repeatedly offer was spin in a clockwise circle or jump up on my leg. Oh and 'sit.' Monty moves at a much slower pace than Niche and he is more deliberate. It is easier to catch him repeating the same behavior because of this. But like Niche, Monty is a pretty quick study.
One thing that we have begun discussing because of these shaping challenges is "good" vs "bad" in training and behavior. I've tried to instill that there is no good or bad behavior, only criteria. When shaping, the more precise and defined your criteria, the easier it is for the dog to understand and be right. That dogs don't deliberately do things to be 'bad' or 'good', they do things that get them reinforcement, and what they want out of life or things that relieve stress, pain or fear.
All behavior has a reason, and it's our job as trainers to figure out that reason and attempt to understand it. Simply because we may not appreciate our dog doing a certain behavior, doesn't mean the dog is bad or being bad. It just means that we haven't carefully defined and set what behavior we would appreciate more and made a point to reinforce, encourage and train that. In that same token, just because a dog is doing a behavior we do appreciate, doesn't mean the dog is good, it just means he is doing something that we find valuable and have made a point to encourage and reinforce.
Behavior is what works in the moment, it doesn't have judgement. There is no good or bad behavior, only criteria.
Niche has been clicker trained since I got him at age 8wks. His idea of "training" is fast, intense and to throw out every single thing he could possible think might earn him a click all in about the span of a half second. With Niche the challenge is precision because he moves so quickly and forcefully that one has to be spot on in order to get him to do something crisply. Getting Niche to hold the same behavior for a prolonged period of time is also a challenge. The easy thing about Niche is that he is a work-a-holic. It takes a lot to make Niche quit.
Monty, on the other hand, has had very little shaping experience. When we 1st started working with Monty on these exercises the behavior he liked to repeatedly offer was spin in a clockwise circle or jump up on my leg. Oh and 'sit.' Monty moves at a much slower pace than Niche and he is more deliberate. It is easier to catch him repeating the same behavior because of this. But like Niche, Monty is a pretty quick study.
One thing that we have begun discussing because of these shaping challenges is "good" vs "bad" in training and behavior. I've tried to instill that there is no good or bad behavior, only criteria. When shaping, the more precise and defined your criteria, the easier it is for the dog to understand and be right. That dogs don't deliberately do things to be 'bad' or 'good', they do things that get them reinforcement, and what they want out of life or things that relieve stress, pain or fear.
All behavior has a reason, and it's our job as trainers to figure out that reason and attempt to understand it. Simply because we may not appreciate our dog doing a certain behavior, doesn't mean the dog is bad or being bad. It just means that we haven't carefully defined and set what behavior we would appreciate more and made a point to reinforce, encourage and train that. In that same token, just because a dog is doing a behavior we do appreciate, doesn't mean the dog is good, it just means he is doing something that we find valuable and have made a point to encourage and reinforce.
Behavior is what works in the moment, it doesn't have judgement. There is no good or bad behavior, only criteria.
Monday, January 30, 2012
texture cravings aka back to gluten free cookie making!
I swear my texture cravings are a stress thing. Other people get chocolate cravings when they're stressed, I get texture ones. All in a day with a weird sensory system. This weekend was stress, today is stress, despite that it's my self appointed vacation week, so this morning was cookie making time! I adapted a sugar cookie recipe I had in my recipe files to make ginger cinnamon cookies and they came out good!
Recipe for Ginger Cinnamon Cookies was such:
Beat with electric mixer:
1/4c soy free earth balance
1/4c grape seed oil
3/4c sugar
1 egg
In a small bowl combine:
1c brown rice flour
1/2c potato flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1/4tsp psyllium husk
Slowly beat dry ingredients into wet, then chill in covered bowl in fridge for 1hr. Once dough is chilled, roll out on floured surface then cut with cookie cutters and bake in 350'F oven. My recipe said they should bake 5-8min, but in my oven they baked for more like 15. Let cool on rack then enjoy!!
Recipe for Ginger Cinnamon Cookies was such:
Beat with electric mixer:
1/4c soy free earth balance
1/4c grape seed oil
3/4c sugar
1 egg
In a small bowl combine:
1c brown rice flour
1/2c potato flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1/4tsp psyllium husk
Slowly beat dry ingredients into wet, then chill in covered bowl in fridge for 1hr. Once dough is chilled, roll out on floured surface then cut with cookie cutters and bake in 350'F oven. My recipe said they should bake 5-8min, but in my oven they baked for more like 15. Let cool on rack then enjoy!!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Things I Learn
I've decided to try implementing some new life changes, as I try to accept my limitations. The biggest one has been to go through my calendar and actually block out "Downtime on the couch" twice a day, every day. Downtime where I set the kitchen timer, go lie down on the couch and not allow myself to do anything until that timer goes off. I started this 3 days ago and I have quickly come to realize that honestly, I generally have no bloody clue or accurate way to gauge just how exhausted I am all of the time.
About 15min into my downtime, I go- Shit, I'm tired. And taking a break actually becomes a welcome relief. I'm so used to pushing myself all the time to do things and to function that just how tired I am never makes it to my radar until I'm so tired I can no longer function.
The past 3 days my downtime block has been a timed 45 or 60min, but really I'm thinking maybe that need to be more like 2hrs twice a day. With just an hour, when the timer goes off I'm still bloody exhausted and then trying to get back into functioning mode is a distinct challenge.
My hope is that by taking more routine and regulated breaks, my sleeping pattern will improve and overall I'll be able to function better with fewer crashes and new issues cropping up long term. Time will tell if that happens, but one can cross fingers and hope.
About 15min into my downtime, I go- Shit, I'm tired. And taking a break actually becomes a welcome relief. I'm so used to pushing myself all the time to do things and to function that just how tired I am never makes it to my radar until I'm so tired I can no longer function.
The past 3 days my downtime block has been a timed 45 or 60min, but really I'm thinking maybe that need to be more like 2hrs twice a day. With just an hour, when the timer goes off I'm still bloody exhausted and then trying to get back into functioning mode is a distinct challenge.
My hope is that by taking more routine and regulated breaks, my sleeping pattern will improve and overall I'll be able to function better with fewer crashes and new issues cropping up long term. Time will tell if that happens, but one can cross fingers and hope.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Training Tom
This post is for the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival hosted by Dog Star Academy
As an instructor who teaches competition level dog training classes, I feel it's important to keep my skills up as a trainer and have dogs with competition level skills. I also find myself falling back to my own dogs occasionally in my teaching to demonstrate skills and behaviors that can be difficult for students to visualize. For the past number of years Niche has been my go-to demo dog, as James and Regal were before him. Niche, alas is aging, in March this year he'll be 8 years old. My history with my flat coats at that age isn't all that great and what I'm going to do when I no longer have Niche as my go-to dog has been flitting through my mind.
I've thought about getting another flat coat puppy, which I would love to do and will some day again, but right now and really for the next 2 years it just wouldn't be feasible to add a puppy to the mix of my life. Monty, after the brief back scare we had last year and the additional of his brother going down in the back since then, I am hesitant to do more agility training with and really, most often, that's where my demo dog needs lie.
When I first got Tom, I had immediately discounted ever teaching him to be an agility dog. My main concern was his conformation and weak rear end. He's majorly cow hocked and puts all of his forward drive into his front end, not his rear. Asking him to safely jump is not something I'm willing to do with him. But, the other day, my mum and I were chatting and she brought up a good point, that, for what I need in a demo dog, he doesn't have to do jumps or contacts, he just has to respond to my handling, direction and crosses to show the skills needing description. I have hoops, gates, cones and jump uprights with bars on the ground. I set courses using only those for students on a fairly frequent basis when we are working on certain skills. Tom can safely do those and agility training may even help build his agility and give him more confidence in how he moves as currently he is very freight train like and can't get out of his own (or another dog's) way often times when playing in the yard.
Tom is also a young dog. He's only 2 and very intelligent. He is getting bored only being a guide dog and I think will really enjoy learning new things. Training for any dog can help enhance the bond and relationship one has with that dog, and most dogs really love interacting with their owner doing something different and fun. Keeping Tom entertained and really happy has been a challenge and obstacle lately. There are only so many places we can walk near our home and with snow coming, our outings will become severely limited. Learning different and new skills will challenge his mind and hopefully keep him happy this winter.
This morning, we braved the cold in the yard to begin training. We worked on switch on the flat, I introduced Tom to hoops and began to teach him how a start line stay in agility is different than the stay he already knows. The type of training and thinking I was asking Tom to do was, based on his response, probably different than any type of thinking he'd ever done before in such a setting. He was a very good boy though and I think had a very good time. We will continue to work this winter and hopefully by spring Tom will have the beginnings of a skill set to be my next demo dog. The obstacle of what to do to keep Tom the happy, willing guide dog and what do to when Niche can no longer be my demo dog, will hopefully be overcome by training Tom.
As an instructor who teaches competition level dog training classes, I feel it's important to keep my skills up as a trainer and have dogs with competition level skills. I also find myself falling back to my own dogs occasionally in my teaching to demonstrate skills and behaviors that can be difficult for students to visualize. For the past number of years Niche has been my go-to demo dog, as James and Regal were before him. Niche, alas is aging, in March this year he'll be 8 years old. My history with my flat coats at that age isn't all that great and what I'm going to do when I no longer have Niche as my go-to dog has been flitting through my mind.
I've thought about getting another flat coat puppy, which I would love to do and will some day again, but right now and really for the next 2 years it just wouldn't be feasible to add a puppy to the mix of my life. Monty, after the brief back scare we had last year and the additional of his brother going down in the back since then, I am hesitant to do more agility training with and really, most often, that's where my demo dog needs lie.
When I first got Tom, I had immediately discounted ever teaching him to be an agility dog. My main concern was his conformation and weak rear end. He's majorly cow hocked and puts all of his forward drive into his front end, not his rear. Asking him to safely jump is not something I'm willing to do with him. But, the other day, my mum and I were chatting and she brought up a good point, that, for what I need in a demo dog, he doesn't have to do jumps or contacts, he just has to respond to my handling, direction and crosses to show the skills needing description. I have hoops, gates, cones and jump uprights with bars on the ground. I set courses using only those for students on a fairly frequent basis when we are working on certain skills. Tom can safely do those and agility training may even help build his agility and give him more confidence in how he moves as currently he is very freight train like and can't get out of his own (or another dog's) way often times when playing in the yard.
Tom is also a young dog. He's only 2 and very intelligent. He is getting bored only being a guide dog and I think will really enjoy learning new things. Training for any dog can help enhance the bond and relationship one has with that dog, and most dogs really love interacting with their owner doing something different and fun. Keeping Tom entertained and really happy has been a challenge and obstacle lately. There are only so many places we can walk near our home and with snow coming, our outings will become severely limited. Learning different and new skills will challenge his mind and hopefully keep him happy this winter.
This morning, we braved the cold in the yard to begin training. We worked on switch on the flat, I introduced Tom to hoops and began to teach him how a start line stay in agility is different than the stay he already knows. The type of training and thinking I was asking Tom to do was, based on his response, probably different than any type of thinking he'd ever done before in such a setting. He was a very good boy though and I think had a very good time. We will continue to work this winter and hopefully by spring Tom will have the beginnings of a skill set to be my next demo dog. The obstacle of what to do to keep Tom the happy, willing guide dog and what do to when Niche can no longer be my demo dog, will hopefully be overcome by training Tom.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
2012- acceptance and gratitude
With the changes in my nervous system and functioning level in the past few months, I find myself revisiting a theme of needing to find acceptance and struggling to be grateful for what I have, not what I am loosing. This past week alone, I've started, then scrapped, countless blog posts; scrapped simply because I continuously find myself focusing on the negative and what I don't have, which isn't where I want my thoughts to lie.
I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, and that's not what this post is about. It's more about a desire to hold myself accountable for change that I wish to see happen in my life. Generally if I verbalize something and really think about the words I want to use to express what I want, I'll think about it more and change is sometimes easier to make happen.
This week I'm trying to accept that I have limitations that impact my ability to work and do my job in the ways that I would prefer. The limitations aren't my fault, they're no one's fault, they're just a result of a disabled nervous system. And I'm trying to remind myself to be grateful that I am able to work at all and that even with limits on my career I am still able to reach and make change for many dogs and improve their relationships with the people in their lives.
I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, and that's not what this post is about. It's more about a desire to hold myself accountable for change that I wish to see happen in my life. Generally if I verbalize something and really think about the words I want to use to express what I want, I'll think about it more and change is sometimes easier to make happen.
This week I'm trying to accept that I have limitations that impact my ability to work and do my job in the ways that I would prefer. The limitations aren't my fault, they're no one's fault, they're just a result of a disabled nervous system. And I'm trying to remind myself to be grateful that I am able to work at all and that even with limits on my career I am still able to reach and make change for many dogs and improve their relationships with the people in their lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)