Bonus Episode 015 | Spinning in Indecision, Why You Do It, and How to Get Out of It

Bonus Episode 015 | Spinning in Indecision, Why You Do It, and How to Get Out of It

If you agonize over decisions, research purchases to death before buying, and weigh the pros and cons seemingly endlessly, then this is the episode for you.

There’s a reason your brain does this. It’s trying to be kind to you. And its kindness often hurts more than it helps.

All is not lost though. We’re not at the mercy of our brains. We actually have a say in things, which is what I explain in the episode.

There may or may not be an anecdote in there about me having to decide on the colors of Rusty’s backpack.

His backpack was made by an awesome woman-owned boutique business in the USA, called Groundbird Gear. They provide your dog with a custom harness to which you can add separable roll-top saddle bags.

I highly recommend them. You can find their website here:

https://www.groundbirdgear.com/

 

Want to stop spinning out?

It’s all about knowing how your brain works and getting comfortable with discomfort. Sound vague? Listen to the podcast episode or book a free consult and I will tell you more.

024 | Marijke (and Scott) & SupDog, a 1600-mile decompression walk on the Pacific Crest Trail

024 | Marijke (and Scott) & SupDog, a 1600-mile decompression walk on the Pacific Crest Trail

You’ve heard of decompression walks, letting your dog enjoy nature and sniff away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.

How about a 1600-mile decompression walk?

Luna (Marijke) and Werewolf (Scott) hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles)  for their honeymoon and after clearing the desert section in Southern California, their dog SupDog (“real” name Balu) joined them for the remainder of the trail.

Marijke tells us about the mindset they needed to be in (Hike Your Dogs Hike), the accommodations they made for him and so much more.

What food did they bring?

What’s it like bringing a black dog in warm weather?

How did they deal with judgment from others?

What are town visits like? (“scamming” a sausage off the local butcher anyone?)

 

She also doesn’t gloss over the hard stuff. SupDog was sound sensitive and on day 1 of him joining there’s dynamite blasting on trail. Now what?

Or that time where he would mysteriously refuse to walk every late afternoon and it took a while to figure out what was going on.

As Marijke explains it was just a stringing together of a series of decisions, constantly evaluating where you are at and what is the best way forward based on the situation as it is.

One of my favorite parts is where Marijke explains that SupDog was sound sensitive and the choice was simply between him being sound sensitive at home or sound sensitive on the trail with the family who loves him. It doesn’t sound like too hard of a choice to make, when you put it that way.

After coming back home Marijke and Scott decided to pay it forward and they started the Thru-Hiker Dog Facebook Group to exchange information with those considering thru-hiking with their dog that is judgment free.

I am a member of that group and if you’re considering hiking longer distances with your dog I highly encourage you to join. You will be able to ask all the questions you need to figure out what works for you and your dog. Marijke also mentions that her present dog probably is not a long-distance trail dog. This is one conclusion you might come to as well based on the information shared freely within the group.

It’s all about what you believe is right for you and your dog.

 

Links:

The Thru-hiker Dogs Facebook Group, that was started by Marijke and Scott to provide dog guardians with information, tips, and tricks, given by people who’ve actually been there and done that:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/907294749289972

The dehydrated dog food SupDog was eating on trail:

https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/

The Pacific Crest Trail Association:

https://www.pcta.org/

The other two major long distance trails:

The Appalachian Trail: https://appalachiantrail.org/

The Continental Divide Trail: https://continentaldividetrail.org/

MSR Gear: https://www.msrgear.com/

Think you could never do something like this, even though you would like to?

It’s all in your mind(set). Why not figure out how you can make your brain work for you instead of against you?

There is no need to know the precise route before you set out. All you have to do is set out.

There is no need to know the precise route before you set out. All you have to do is set out.

Overplanning paralysis

I can’t go! I don’t know every detail yet!

Is not knowing how to get to where you’re going keeping you from departing on your journey altogether?

Starting my own coaching business is a journey. I am an amazing coach, and at the same time completely new to the entrepreneurial world. I am not 100% sure how I will navigate it yet.I have a vision of what my business will look like and a good idea of the things there are for me to learn in order to get there.

There are taxes, acquisition, international business law, and so forth and so on.

But do I know precisely what everything is going to look like as my business grows? Do I know every stop along the way? No. I do know that I just need to get and keep going.

All you have to do is decide

I was reminded of my hike on the E1 long-distance trail in Sweden. Sure, there was lots of planning involved, and maybe I could have planned more, but at one point I just had to make the decision to go for it, and when I did, everything started falling into the place.

Because I had decided to GO I had the energy and the mindset to move forward.

What was I going to do with Rusty’s dog crate, the obligatory airplane crate that he was to be transported in for example?

Well, I knew I was going to have it at the airport in Sweden and I knew I wouldn’t be taking it with me on the hike. I didn’t know how I was going to come back from Sweden, but if it was by plane I knew I would need a crate again. That’s about where I was at.

Options: store it somewhere or get rid of it and buy a new one later.

If I was to get rid of it, I wanted to donate it to a shelter. If I were to store it I needed to find out where and how much that would cost.

So, I researched shelters and posted my questions in a Swedish air travel with dogs Facebook group and one in a hiking group.

Take action

I had propelled into action. I was taking steps.

Guess what happened? Someone reached out, said they were happy to store the crate for me, and would I not want to spend the night at their house before starting out on my journey as they basically lived ON the trail.

Wait what? Yep, you heard it. All my problems were solved in one go. I even got picked up from the airport, driven around to go shopping, everything! Most importantly I got to meet three amazing people and hear their stories. One of them was even a pilot. Go figure. Aviation connects just as much as hiking does.

There were so many more instances like this along the trail, but I think I want to spend a separate post on that because on that trip the universe provided almost to the point of disbelief.

The point is, certain steps will only become clear to you after you have taken the one prior.

Set a goal, an endpoint, a destination, whether it is a business or a life goal, and then go after it! The path will reveal itself. You will grow, meet new people and develop new skills.

Wherever you end up is perfect

Here’s the kicker: even when you don’t end up where you planned to go, I promise you, you will end up where you needed to go.

For me, that wasn’t the North Cape (yet), but it was in life coach training and now in my own business.

Do you want to stop basing your actions on thoughts about all the things that could go wrong?

Pin It on Pinterest