Do The Thing

Every Sunday, I send you something to THINK about, a question to ASK yourself, something to TRY and invite you to SHARE.

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THINK

“Do we have to stare death in the face to make us stand up and confront Resistance?”

– Steven Pressfield

Last month, I had a catch-up call with my brother. He asked about Holly and how life as a new dog dad was treating me.

I told him, “I LOVE it! She’s brought something out of me. She’s close to being the perfect dog and I can’t wait to bring her back to introduce her to everyone.”

2 days later, she bit me.

HARD!

And it fucking hurt!

She didn’t “attack” me. She “redirected” onto me.

She was triggered by another dog, and I was using my leg to direct her away from the dog, and she unleashed her frustration onto me.

It was my fault. I take full responsibility.

Thanks to Lou working her magic (ex-nurse), I avoided stitches, but the one tooth mark was about the thickness of my finger. (The bottom left one)

I took this photo about 5 days after the incident, once I was brave enough to look at it (real man!).

About a week prior to this incident, we took Holly on a dog date with a couple we know, and unfortunately, the two got into a fight. They carried on walking together after that without issue, but neither dog has been the same since.

Now, any time Holly sees a dog, she goes nuts!

Me and Lou have an issue to deal with…

We have a “reactive dog”.

The EASY thing to do is try to avoid all other dogs.

She’s great with people, obedient and a joy to be around. It’s just other dogs.

The HARD thing to do is teach Holly that other dogs are fine.

It’ll involve progressively exposing her to the stimulus and allowing her to calm down in their presence, proving dogs are cool, without taking it too far and reinforcing her current hatred. It’s a tricky balance that involves patience, attention and consistency.

We’re lucky to live in the countryside. Our home sits within 7 acres, and we’re minutes away from several countryside walks.

Roughly 19/20 walks involve not seeing any human or dog.

It makes the easy route… well, easy!

And that’s what we’ve done.

When asked by friends, “What are you going to do about Holly?”

I’ve replied, “I need to book a session with my trainer, and gently exposure her to dogs over time.”

But I haven’t…

My first excuse was that I needed my leg to recover.

It has. ✅

My second excuse was that following a recommendation from one of my trainers, I should give Holly some time away from other dogs for a couple of weeks to decompress from the stimulus before taking her back to training and meeting other dogs.

She has. ✅

So, what am I waiting for?

Why I Haven’t Taken Action

Quite simply because…

I haven’t needed to.

If I lived in a town/city, I would have been forced into training her sooner because dog interactions would be unavoidable.

But here… they’re not.

One of my trainers previously told me, “Don’t take it personally. Dogs will always take the easiest path if they can.”

I smiled, “I don’t think humans are any different!”

When the pain of inaction isn’t great enough, you’ll stand still.

And that’s exactly what I’ve done.

I’ve avoided what needs addressing.

Sound familiar?

Do The Thing

If you can ‘get away with it’, you will.

Don’t let yourself off the hook.

We encountered a dog last week, and I was secretly hoping Holly would ‘go back to normal’ and nonchalantly walk past it.

But no… she went nuts!

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced holding a dog like a Doberman when it’s going nuts trying to attack something.

It’s not nice.

I felt slightly vulnerable. “Will she do it again?”

I felt slightly embarrassed. The other dog wasn’t doing anything wrong, and I looked incompetent.

I KNOW this is an issue that needs addressing.

I’ve discounted the cost of not fixing it.

I need to do the thing.

Do you have a thing? 🤔

Free the Bottleneck

There’s something in your life you’re not addressing.

You know what it is.

It could be your job, debt, side business, investing, relationship or health.

ONE THING that keeps raising its head.

Deep down, you know you need to fix it, but you avoid it.

This one thing, if fixed, would make your life so much easier and enjoyable.

And yet, you do nothing about it.

The thought of resolving it is scary and disheartening.

You fanaticise about it magically figuring itself out, but deep down you know that it won’t.

It continues to hold you back.

But it’s not going anywhere.

Stop avoiding it and face it head-on.

When you fix this issue, your life will transform. 💫

You’ll become lighter.

You’ll experience a warm sense of satisfaction from facing a challenge.

And you’ll become someone who “deal’s with things”.

If you fix this ONE THING, every other problem will seem like child’s play, because nothing is harder than this thing.

Each new challenge becomes easier to face and resolve, and the cycle continues.

Before you know it, you become a purposeful problem-solver, and NOTHING stands in your way.

So, whatever it is…

Join me and deal with it.

Reflect and share this with someone.

ASK

“What one decision are you not making that would unquestionably improve your life?”

“What three steps could you take to fix/improve today?”

“What’s the cost of not fixing this one thing over time?”

Write down what comes to mind.

TRY

Try releasing the bottleneck.

Stop avoiding it and take a step towards it today.

If you’ve been putting it off for some time, consider the cost of NOT fixing it.

What will it cost you to not fix this thing for 5, 10 or 20 years?

For me… do I really want to be avoiding dogs for the next 10 years?

Or would the alternative of her being neutral towards other dogs be worth pursuing?

I know what I need to do.

Do you?

HIT REPLY and share your ONE THING.

I’d love to know what it is, how I can help or your plan to crush it.

I read and reply to every email, and remember, I’m rooting for you!

Remember: Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Reply to this email and share how it went for you. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.