August 2023 • kajsavanoverbeek.com

Mindset episode 022 | Thinking about changing is changing, so is relapsing, so is not thinking about changing

Beating yourself up about being stuck in the “I kind of want to change, but I can’t get myself to change, so I must not want the change bad enough” is one of the most counterproductive ways to talk to yourself.

Change isn’t all about action. It starts with you (and your dog) just living your life (or lives), followed by as much time as necessary to consider if there is something you want to change and how. Change is also about falling back into old patterns and trying again.
When you come to that realization, you can stop beating yourself up for not changing, or for falling off the change-wagon. How can you “not be changing” after all, when you are living the very definition of change? How can you have fallen off the change-wagon, if falling off is part of change?

In this episode, I relate the phases of change to life with our dogs and life in general.
Hopefully, it’s another way for you to look at things that allows you to start training your dog the way you want, or to make that change in your self-care routine, to quit that job and become a dog trainer. You name it.

Wondering why you aren't changing things up?

Jump on a call with me to figure out what’s holding you back and what you can do to change that.

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031 | Georgie of Trickwoofs on compassion fatigue in the dog training world, the parallels with raising a human child, learning to love frustration, and more

If you follow any kind of dog related social media, then you will know Georgie, where she posts under the handle @trickwoofs.

You will have seen the lovely whimsical cartoons she draws about life with a reactive dog, which are so extremely on point they always make me laugh.

A particular cartoon comes to mind that has the guardian and their dog navigating the urban jungle that is the city, James Bond style, ducking behind walls and sneaking around corners, all in an attempt to avoid triggers.

The topics we discuss are as diverse as Georgie’s interests.

We talk about compassion fatigue in the dog training world, the parallels to raising a human child, learning to love frustration, following your passion and almost feeling like you’re not worthy of it, and so much more.

Did you know, Georgie transitioned from a modeling career to dog training?

Many people wanting to make a career switch in life will recognize the little voice that Georgie describes. The one that asks the question: Could I really be worthy of making a living doing the thing I love?

I ask Georgie about compassion fatigue in the dog world and the dog rescue world in particular.

She describes it as no longer feeling anything when you know you should be feeling something. It’s like the body shuts down to all emotions.

The question becomes. How does one prevent or overcome it? Georgie’s short answer is by finding community and talking about it! To not believe that there is some kind of limit below which it is no longer okay to ask for help.

She also recommends finding what works for you when it comes to doing a bodily reset. For her it’s yoga and breathwork, but for someone it might be boxing or rock climbing.

We talk about allowing emotions in ours dogs and ourselves similar to what we do with our children and not feeling the pressure to of needing to respond to something.

And of course, we talk about her art, and her other project which is the development of a treat dispensing muzzle. What keeps her going? What allows her to press pause when needed? What has she learned about failure and also:

How DOES she manage to combine all the things she does (and she does a LOT)?