My love for animals drives my self-development. Devoting my life to learn how to better communicate with others, animals, without the use of words chucks me way out in the unknown.
That moment when we finally figure out how to get our message across or when something clicks and we finally understand what they were trying to say can be so addictive. There are emotions, though, that limit a person’s ability to do that – to get across to an animal, or person for that matter, in a natural, respectful way.
But what gets in our way that disables us to communicate with them?
Learning from animals casts us way out there, but I like it out there. It’s where I feel most comfortable.
Animals are honest, truthful, raw. There is no ego or pride getting in their way. Winning or losing doesn’t matter to them when it comes to us. Nor do animals possess self-pity, such a deadly virus to people. Yet these are exactly the emotions we possess that are getting in our way. They limit our opportunities in all aspects of life, especially with animals.
Instead of telling an animal to do something just for the heck of it, I try approaching in a manner so that I am asking for help to improve my emotions. I want to be less prideful and egotistical. Winning or losing aren’t my priorities when working with animals, and I want to throw self-pity out the window.
While all of these things have improved over the years, it will never be good enough. The animal I work with will always be one step ahead and it is up to me, the initiator of a training session, to work hard on myself to keep up. When it comes down to that, our interactions form a partnership – my goal is a balanced team.