Hope For Jack…

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

Well the consultation with the dog trainer went well. We have signed on and I have hope for Jack and I. We meet next week for the first time and I have some tools to use in the meantime. Jack has a very dominant personality and this trainer is a behaviorist, which gives me hope. With the few tools I have I am already seeing a difference. I have been able to sit down for longer periods of time and it has only been one day. Jack is not very happy with me at the moment but in the long run I think we will have a wonderful life together. It feels good to have hope.

For me when I have hope my entire outlook on life changes. The mind is an amazing tool. It can be dangerous and amazing all at once. When those positive vibes start flowing you never know what will come next. I just had a session with my business-coaching group on the inner voice. This all connects for me. I am so concerned about what Jack has been through that I am overcompensating and he is one smart dog. He knows how to work his momma. How do you overcompensate in your life? Recognizing the signs and having those “ahah” moments can change my direction.

These past three months have thrown me off my compass. Introducing Jack into my life, working with him, helping him feel safe and loved even though I feel he has been fighting it subconsciously. His fears come out in different ways and he does not have control over his circumstances. Acting out is his only way to protect himself from the unknown. This training will help the both of us. I will be trained along with Jack. So I still have some learning to do.

Ah, learning this is something I love to do. It is not always easy changing how I do things or how I think but the end result is usually quite beneficial. How do you learn and grow from your experiences? Is it difficult or easy for you? I think when I am accepting and embrace the learning it goes so much easier. When I fight it all I do is hurt myself. I think when Jack learns he still is loved and cared for the training will go much easier. I am excited for our next journey together.

Just this one visit with the trainer has calmed me. I am not as crazy with Jack. I hope I can keep this up until Wednesday. There have been times I have been a crazy person and I do not like myself when I get this way with him. I was at my wits end and had no idea what to do. I was referred to this trainer through this blog. One Facebook message and I have hope. See what a little sharing can do. Amazing happenings here in the world of the Internet. How has sharing information helped you? I love when people share information and it helps someone out. We do it everyday. What information have you shared that has helped someone? Food for thought…

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

Jack Continued…

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

Well we continue to make progress. The groundhog is still with us as he ate all of my lettuce again! I have officially given up on growing lettuce and will go to a farmers market. The rest of my garden is flourishing which makes me happy. Jack is getting better around other dogs when walking. We even walked parallel with another dog and owner and I was able to have conversation! Yay Jack!

Jack loves to be out in his fenced area. This helps me out a lot and I am so happy he has adjusted to this. It helps when there is a storm or if it is too hot to walk him. He loves to run and jump. He has so much energy. Sometimes I think he has so much he has no way to get it all out.

What happens to you when you have too much energy? For me this usually happens when I have too much going on or if I am stressing over one particular issue. Finding a healthy release can be tough. This blog has become one of my releases. Meditation is another. My vegetable garden is a big release for me. This year I am doing a ton of yard work. The physical release of working in my yard has really helped me. There have been other years where I do not even want to deal with it. How do you release your energy without it overtaking you?

The biting well this is still going on. We have a consultation with a trainer who was referred to me. So we shall see what he has to say. My neighbor who is a trainer told me this was called mouthing. It can be quite daunting at times. This is my first experience with a dog doing this. I am sure there are times when Jack is frustrated and has no other way to voice this. Other times I know he is playing but it gets to be too much. I am hoping this trainer will be able to help.

This brings me to how do you act when you are frustrated? For me it does not always come out very nicely. Most of the time I am more frustrated with myself than with others. I work on not beating myself up for my mistakes but do my best to learn from them. My attitude at times needs adjustment along the way when I am in a state of frustration. Attitude adjustments are always are process for me. Working out of a state of mind is a process for me. For Jack he seems to let go pretty easily. Why can’t we humans do the same? Oh the clutter in our brains gets in the way sometimes.

Animals really have no control over their environments. Can you imagine living this way? Having control as human beings is a large part of our comfort. When chaos ensues some of us thrive on it while others retreat. Imagine not having control?

As always I would love to hear your experiences.

Until next time…

~Lisa

Jack…

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

 

Well Jack continues to get better. He now loves his fenced in area and loves to run! He is having fun I can see it in his eyes. He has even done his business in there. Yay for me! He does have some incentive though-there is a groundhog living under the garage and his area butts up against that side of the garage. Where as I do not want him to hurt the groundhog; if the groundhog moved out maybe I can actually pick my vegetables in my garden instead of him picking them for me. I am walking him a little less but am being cognizant of ensuring he gets at least two good walks a day.

It has taken Jack a little over two months to get the concept of his area. This leads me to have some awareness’s of my own. How long does it take me to adjust to new things in my life? Hmmm what about you? If it is a welcomed change hey no problem. If it is an unexpected or forced change well that is another story. I need to assess my awareness around this new change, go through some acceptance and acknowledge it, and then take an action whether it is to embrace this change or find another solution. All of this takes time just like Jack needs his time to adjust to change. As a pet he does not have the ability to change his circumstances. This shows in his behavior. I can truthfully admit my behavior is not always so great when it comes to change or even accepting something, which is out of my control. Sometimes I forget about those things I need to be doing for myself. Just as Jack has had his obedience training, I need to train myself.

How do you train yourself to be accepting of change? I would love to hear how others embrace change. I am sitting at my desk facing my vision boards and my reiki boards. I tend to gravitate to these to help me focus and work on solutions. For Jack when I am not home I made him a playlist on my ITunes. He has a mixture of music to help him relax and not worry about where I am and how long will he be stuck in his crate (I call it his bed not that it makes it any better for him.) He is not quite ready to be left free roaming about the house yet. There are just too many temptations for him to chew on. And he has chewed on quite a bit.

Jack has an issue with motion of any sort. He reacts very badly to the vacuum even when it is not running. So much so he broke the on/off switch thankfully in the on position. Needless to say I sweep a lot but that is quite the challenge too. But since he loves being outside I am having my “a hah” moments and doing some of this when he is outside. When you are struggling what are some of your “a ha” moments?

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

Just Jack…

~ lisagangone ~ 2 Comments

Well it has been two months since adopting Jack. Each day he is improving. Let me explain why. Jack is from North Carolina. He was rescued off the streets. He is a little over two years old. He still has puppy in him and a bunch of survival skills from living on the streets. I sense he has been abused as well. A retired couple adopted him and returned him because they could not handle his energy. This is how Jack came to me; he was sent back-rejected. Bottom line Jack has had a rough beginning in his life. I am determined to change this. Sometimes I question my determination because of where it takes me sometimes.

Jack is a collie/shepherd mixed breed. He is a herding dog and in his eyes he needs to herd me and this has been difficult. I am his pack. There have been times in the past two months where I have “lost” it when it comes to his biting. I was talking to an old dear friend last night that went through the same thing. She told me to hang in there because it does get better. It already has but I still want this behavior stopped yesterday. Progress not perfection. Since he was on the streets he has food issues. I cannot eat with him in the room or even in the house. Ugh… It is getting better I have been able to prepare food somewhat. Hopefully we will tackle this before winter arrives. I think he is in a constant state of what if I don’t have any food? He does not quite get the concept he is being taken care of. Hmm this could relate to me on so many different levels. What about you? Fear of the unknown it can be debilitating and when you have no control over your circumstances such as a dog that fear can fester and come out in behaviors that are not so enjoyable to the recipient.

I have this really big fenced in area for a dog pen. It takes up most of my backyard. At first he did not understand the concept of having his own space. I needed him to walk him in there daily for him to understand. Now he goes in there and hangs out. Not quite getting the concept of doing his “business” but we will get there.

On a positive note I am walking between three and four miles a day. I am in pretty good shape thanks to Jack. My nutrition is great but I had not been exercising. He gets me walking in my neighborhood. I have met a few neighbors I did not know; thank you Jack. Having a dog can boost your social life in your neighborhood. Unfortunately he has taken to jumping after ongoing cars. Another dog owner who is a trainer recommended taking treats to distract him. It has helped. Movement affects him. Movement can affect anyone who has experienced abuse of any kind.

It was recommended to me to blog about Jack. What I can tell you is the last few months have been difficult and enjoyable all at once. I am having awareness’s along the way. Everything can parallel in ways we would never think of.

So I ask you this. This blog may be about a dog but what I wrote about can be relatable if you take the time to reflect upon it. What can you reflect on, be aware of, and say yes this makes sense…

 

Until next time…

Lisa~

Our Past Propels Us to the Present, Then to the Future…

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

The past propels us to the present, which then propels us into the future. Ah, the past it can be so convoluted yet just what helps us move forward to the present. Life has not always been good for me. I have had my share of struggles just as everyone else has. I choose to acknowledge my past, learn from it, and see where it takes me. I have written a little bit about my past so here it comes again. But in this light I will write about what it has given me. What has your past given you? A friend posted a blog on Facebook this morning challenging the “Everything happens for a reason” quote in a blog. Sometimes I believe that but other times I know it is me who has brought me to a particular point. Whether it was me being in fear of “what might happen if I take a chance” or struggling and losing myself in hanging on to something that will eventually go away of my own making or of things out of my control. Thank you Mom for reminding me of my past. It has me reflecting of how far I have come from this past experience.

Today I choose to acknowledge what part I played and how I thought if I just tried harder and worked harder I could fix this! I am smiling right now because there was nothing I could have done to change the outcome. The only change I could have made to change the outcome was to walk away. But I was not ready for that step. I needed the proverbial kick in the butt to move me in a new direction. What kicks in the butt have you had to move you in a new direction? It is funny in a philosophical funny kind of way of where this experience has taken me. This experience has given me the opportunity to be open in ways I had never imagined were possible. I was still fearful but had made peace with my fear and welcomed what was to come.

The people I have met in the present have been propelling me to my future. Those little miraculous steps of taking a chance brought me to these people. I have so much gratitude for this. My present is nothing like I imagined it to be. I still have struggles; who doesn’t? But today I surround myself with people who care, who have similar experiences, and can help with solutions. How is your present propelling you to your future?

The future, well it is still uncertain. This is okay because I can work towards my goals and dreams without hesitating about the future. I look forward to the future because it is always bringing me to new possibilities. I can acknowledge my fears then send them on a coffee break as my business coach tells me. What do you do to send your fears on a coffee break? How has your past, present, and future changed your life?

Until next time…

~Lisa

Preconceived Notions, Assumptions, Perceptions Oh My!

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

Ahh, preconceived notions, assumptions, and perceptions… The human race has so many different variations of these. These seem to pop up on a daily basis. How do you overcome these? How have come to handle these three anomalies? It can be tiring and draining. What I find that amazes me is you do not even realize it is happening and when it happens it throws a curve in that is difficult to bounce back from. But you can bounce back!

Bouncing back is self-care and forward motion. I do not need to sit in these three notions, assumptions, and perceptions in check. It goes both ways, as does anything else. Lately this has been happening to me and I need to look at my part in each situation. It is important to me to be a better person, a trustworthy person, a credible person, an ethical person, and a person who is open to hearing when I am wrong and have the ability to change for the better. I live in the mindset of self-development on a daily consistent basis. It is important me to grow mentally and spiritually. Learning something new everyday inspires me to improve and be a better person.

We need these reminders to help us stay in the moment, for me it is looking at myself but not beating myself up, but to see where I can improve. It is not always enjoyable but it does bring me back to me and to work and learn on how to improve myself. I can embrace my imperfections, acknowledge them, and move on to what I need to do for myself.

My goal is to attract positive people and influences into my life. I cannot do this if I do not move away from my misconceptions. I choose not to do the blame game. I choose to bring awareness, acceptance, and action into my life to help me move in the right direction. Wouldn’t it feel great to surround yourself with goodness? It brings my vibrations into a positive light and propels me to continue to work towards my goals and dreams.

Life takes us I so many directions and I know I can get caught up in “stuff.” What about you, how do you get “unstuck from the stuff?” I would love to hear from you and have you share what tools you use to overcome these.

What Happens When You Bring Something New Into Your Life?

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

What happens to you when you add something new to your life? Wow, for me it is a big adjustment. Adding something new has its trials and errors for me staying on queue with my life and my work. My newest addition is my new pup. He is two and a handful. I knew this going in but my determination and my love for this little guy told me to take this leap of faith and bring him into my home.

Bringing in a new pet leads to many challenges. How do I fit him into my schedule? I have such a busy life how am I going to make this work? Prior to this I lost my last fur love two years ago. He was 15 ½ and such a good dog. It was hard to lose him as I had lost his pal two years prior to him. This thing is I love being home. When I lost Buddy I started staying away from home to cope and then I continued to have a crazy schedule. My new pup, Jack, has brought me back to my home where I love to be. Granted I have made a lot of changes to get him adjusted. Some of those have been good-I am organizing and clearing out what I do not need. I am walking three to four miles a day so Jack is now my portable gym. Other changes will switch back once he is trained. Honestly he has gotten me back to where I want to be so making these adjustments is what I am meant to do.

Now to the work part: it has been difficult to get things done. I am acknowledging this and using my creativity to conquer this challenge. My blogs have not been as frequent and so right now I just posted one and am taking advantage and getting some writing done while he naps. I need to do the same thing when making phone calls. Having a barking dog in the background can be distracting for the person I am calling and myself trying to stay focused on topic. It is a work in progress and we are improving and making strides every day.

Add on top of that I am refocusing and expanding my business. In order to keep growing and expanding I need to expand myself and how I approach my business. Do any of you find a need for this? Bringing in new ways and learning new ideas to help grow my business is helping me in every area of my life.

I find it exciting, eye opening, and challenging all at once when I bring new things into my life even if it is revamping what I am already doing. I think looking at my work in a different way with a different perspective brings newness in and with newness brings growth. How are you bringing in growth to your business? I would love to hear how you are growing and expanding.

What is new and exciting that you have brought into your life?

Until next time…

~Lisa

How Do You Keep Moving Forward?

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

How do you keep moving forward? It does not matter whether it is for work or home. There are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week but there never seems to be enough time to keep up with life. It can get overwhelming and sometimes I think the heck with it. That is when I need to take a step back and see what is really happening underneath the chaos of my life. I ask you what do you do when this happens to you?

There was a time when I was not so busy and having that idle time can be dangerous for my mind. Idle time can mean getting into my head and not into my w. My head tells me one thing and my heart another. It is usually my heart that has the right answer. How does this work for you? The big difference for me now is that I need be even more specific with my priorities and sometimes the insanity of life skews my sense of what is important. I can feel a shift in me when this happens. My goals take a back seat and that is not healthy for my business or me. This is a little spin off of my blog juggling acts. Everyone is juggling, the difference is some people are just so organized and others well not so much.

It is when I step into the chaos that what I have for organization crumbles. I was on a business coaching call last week and we talked about how some of us are piling and others of us are filing. Which one are you? This is when I bring my toolbox out and use the tools I have learned to get me back on track. What are some of the tools in your toolbox?

The thing is it is okay to get off track once in awhile as long as it is not on a daily basis. We are all human beings and cannot be on our “game” all of the time. That would be quite tedious and draining don’t you think? Taking down time to regroup, refresh, recharge, or whatever you name it makes us so much stronger to continue our journey of discovery and success. I think for me one of my recharging tools is writing this blog. I am finding it brings out the creative side of me, gets me thinking on the right track, focuses me, and inspires me to keep moving forward. My intention is to reach as many people as possible and help as many people as I possibly can. Walt Disney wrote, “Around here we don’t look backwards for very long… We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we’re curious… And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” This is what I want for myself. To keep moving forward, opening myself up for new experiences, and keeping myself curious because being curious means to me that I am alive, growing, and learning. So, I ask you how are you staying curious?

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

Finding Your Tribe

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

How does one go about finding their tribe? That is other than your family. I have a few different tribes depending upon what part of my life I am focused on. I have my long time friends from growing up. This tribe is the one that no matter what happens to me no matter the circumstances; this tribe sticks by me through thick and thin. We may live thousands of miles apart but when you need them they are there for you.

Then there are those friends I have developed through different work I have done. I have one tribe that gets together a few times a year to catch up and to just enjoy each other’s company. Others getting together is rare but always a good time. Others I have met networking and have developed friendships because we connected in another aspect of our lives. These connections are real, authentic, and can help bring me to new awareness’s that I would have never imagined.

One particular tribe that has dramatically changed my life is through one of my businesses. One that happened per chance-I talked about this in my last blog regarding my health. The people I have met and work with on a weekly basis continue to challenge me, support me, and inspire me to grow beyond my wildest dreams. I do not believe our paths would have not crossed had it not been for me taking a leap of faith. This tribe has helped me in so many different ways I am eternally grateful for each and every one of them. From this tribe I have come to grow and expand my mind, body, soul, and spirit.

This tribe has allowed me to bring amazing people into my life. One’s whose support of me continues to help me grow and expand. These are people who I can relate to and bring added value to my life personally and professionally. I wish this for anyone who is open to expand their ways of looking at life and what amazing gifts can come from adding to your tribe.

 

 

What is even better is finding like-minded people-they don’t even need to be in business with you but you have an amazing connection and you recommend one another’s businesses. I find the connections I have made do just that. We support each other in business. In fact one of these connections posted links to my website within her blog. I find that when I meet people I can truly connect with and their business is one I can support then respectfully I can support them in business by sharing my knowledge of what they do and how they can be of service to others. When I recommend people who I know practice what they preach I know from there my world will expand exponentially.

So I ask you, do you have a special tribe who supports you and helps nurture you to be a better person? What does this tribe mean to you and how did you find them? I would love to hear from you on how this manifests for you. Take a leap of faith, find your tribe, and hang on for an amazing journey that will raise your vibrations to a higher level of consciousness.

 

Until next time…

~Lisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Alternatives-What Does This Mean To You

~ lisagangone ~ Leave a comment

Natural alternatives-what does this exactly mean? For me it is a way for me to protect my health. For others it could be making the big decision to change their lifestyle. Well, it is a lifestyle change and one that can be designed on an individual basis depending upon ones belief system. I am embracing my spirit of my individuality within my lifestyle. In today’s society so many people are embracing lifestyle changes it seems to be the norm instead of the strange and oh they are doing what?

I started seeing a naturopath doctor many years ago and shifted to natural alternatives. I believe this is a path that takes time, learning, and applying the knowledge we gain. For me it started with food. It has eventually enveloped cleaning products, personal care, spirituality, and as much as I possibly can to become sustainable and healthy. Even when we take care of ourselves we can have bumps along the way. I did have some major bumps that set me back. I chose to keep moving forward and to search for solutions. I continue to be open to opportunities to improve my health and well being-physically and mentally.

Did you ever have someone introduce you to something that changed your life? I find it inspiring when I hear this because I had someone do this for me. It does not even have to be someone close to you. In fact it is probably better that it isn’t. We tend not to listen to those we are close to. It is usually someone who we are introduced to who introduces us to someone else. I hear people all of the time recommending a restaurant, a doctor, or something someone has had such a great experience that they want to share it with others. I know I am always recommending something all of the time. So if we recommend these things why not recommend natural alternatives? I know I value others opinions and experiences. Don’t you?

The main natural alternatives I have added to my life have helped me become whole once again. I thought I would never gain back my physical wellness but I have. I am inviting you to take a look at how I did this http://www.lisagangone.myqivana.com.

Wherever I go I run into people that have made lifestyle changes either by choice or by circumstance. Mine was by circumstance and I wish it was the latter but I made the change and that is what counts.

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Have you made natural alternative choices? Have you made a lifestyle change? What have you done in your life or what caused you to make those changes?

Here is a video that can help you understand why I chose this company.

https://youtu.be/OMNg8BQ6xxM

 

I hope if this resonates with you or you know of someone that could be helped you forward this information to them. If I can help someone else like someone helped me it validates my decisions even more so.

 

Until next time…

~Lisa