Short Term Discomfort

One of the hardest things about deciding to do something outside your comfort zone is that it’s going to be hard. And when we decide we want to take our pet training and relationships to the next level, or even “fix” a problem that we are tired of dealing with, it’s going to require that we get out of our comfort zone, and that’s going to require discomfort.

I can tell you all day long about techniques for overcoming pet behavior problems, like how to correct your dog’s misbehavior. Or how to build the relationship so that your horse willingly comes to you instead of playing a game of pasture tag for an hour plus every time you go out there for a ride.

But if you aren’t willing to get uncomfortable long enough to integrate a new skill, then you’ll forever be frustrated with your dog’s (horse, cat, (self), etc) behavior.

Short term discomfort is required for long term gains.

What’s interesting is that we can easily see this in connection with getting fit. Sure, I have to sweat in order to lose weight/be more physically fit. We get it, and we’re often willing to do it.

But when it comes to tasks that are start tapping into the mental and emotional side of things how easy it is to quickly back away, avert our eyes, and pretend we didn’t notice that the thing that we detest is still happening.

Being emotionally and mentally uncomfortable is the key to getting to the other side of those challenges, though. It’s the key to figuring out how to support your dog through emotional outbursts or high energy/distractible situations.

Our energy and presence in the situation has a lot more to do with the outcome than simple training techniques. And learning to change our energy (hell, learning to simply be aware of our energy) is one of the most difficult pieces of the puzzle.

But the long term gains are SO worth it. Calm, responsive dogs. Horses willing to partner and connect. Relaxed behavior. Training that “sticks” and makes it easier to navigate through challenging situations.

To get there you’ve got to be willing to go through the short term discomfort.

That can look like being disciplined with your training routines, applying training to all situations instead of just some of the time.

That can look like taking time for yourself to meditate and work on your own emotional balance.

That can look like pausing and taking a deep breath before making an ask of your pet when they’re “misbehaving.”

None of those things are hard. In fact reading that list might inspire a “pthbb, that’s easy” and a mental eye roll… until they actually have to be applied and your brain is whispering all the reasons why it would be easier not to, and your frustration level is mounting and all you’d rather do is yell angry things at your pet for, yet again, doing that thing that you detest. sigh

So, the next time you find yourself in that tape loop, remember that the short term discomfort will be worth the long term gain, and that’s the only route that will be effective in getting there and achieving lasting change.
Want support getting out of that cycle? Shoot me a message and let’s talk.