Are your assumptions limiting you?

Meet Veda.

She is the 2nd love of my life, after my husband Dave.

(Side note – I just realized over the weekend when I was thinking about writing this post that Veda and Dave both have the same letters in their names. How cool is that? It was totally unintentional on our parts when we named her.)

Veda is almost 6 years old (her birthday is June 6th). She is a female red Doberman Pinscher. Her name means knowledge or wisdom in Sanskrit. Not only is she beautiful to the eyes, her personality and spirit is just as lovely. She is extremely smart, well behaved, loyal, loving, playful, empathetic, and sweet.

I feel better just looking at her.

Veda loves to snuggle and her favorite sleeping spot is between crook of my knees (no, I'm not able to straighten out my legs at night in case you are wondering:)). Veda is always up for an adventure, yet totally fine to chill on the couch all day.

To me, she is perfect in every way.

In fact, it’s hard for me to believe that I was initially resistant to getting her.

My husband grew up with Dobermans and would not budge on the breed when we were looking to get a dog.

I was skeptical.

I didn’t have good experiences with dogs growing up and had been bitten several times by dogs as an adult out running.

I had a lot of assumptions about having a dog.

Dogs are messy. Dogs are out of control. Dogs are uncontrollable. Dogs are loud. Dogs are a lot of work. Dogs limit your ability to travel or do stuff outside of work. Dogs are mean and/or aggressive. Dogs chew up everything. Dogs are difficult to bond with. Dogs are needy. Dogs take up a lot of time. Dogs cause allergic reactions. Dogs are expensive. Dogs are hard to take care of.

AND...large dog breeds are even more of all these things!

I’m sure there are more that aren’t coming to mind right now that my husband could attest to.

There were many discussions between us about why we should (him), and shouldn’t (me), get a dog.

Despite my initial reluctance and resistance, I found myself driving home from Georgia with my husband and an eight-week-old Doberman Pinscher puppy on my lap.

My life changed in that moment.

I fell in love with this puppy and now consider her to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

In the 6 short years that she has been in my life, she has added so much joy and happiness to my life. I can’t imagine life without her. Her presence is such a blessing and gift.

If it weren’t for my husband’s persistence, my assumptions would have limited me from ever having this experience.

He challenged my assumptions which allowed me to open to alternative possibilities and perspectives.

How about you? Can you relate? Do you have assumptions that are limiting you from experiencing more satisfaction and fulfillment in your life? If so, I want to encourage you today to examine your assumptions and challenge them.

Here are a few easy ways to challenge your assumptions:

1. Ask a total stranger to share their perspective about a topic in which you have strong assumptions. Be open to hear their perspective and point of view.

2. Do something you normally wouldn’t do. For example, order something you would normally not order at a restaurant you go to regularly, drive a different route to work, wear something you normally wouldn't wear, or try out a new recreational activity that you normally wouldn’t try.

3. Travel somewhere new.

4. Read a book or article presenting an alternative viewpoint than the one you currently take on a specific topic.

These are just a few ways to challenge assumptions. There are so many more.

Which one of these could you incorporate into your life this week to support you in challenge assumptions that might be limiting you?

If you need external support, feel free to reach out to me. I love supporting people in challenging their assumptions so they can open to more satisfying possibilities for viewing themselves, their life, and the world.

Simply click here to grab a 45 minute spot on my calendar.

Here's to breaking free of limiting assumptions and opening up to new possibilities!

In Ultimate Support of You!

Katharine

P.S. In addition to my assumptions about dogs, I also had a lot of assumptions around my career. I assumed that because my degrees and work experience were in a specific field, I had to keep working in that field for another ~30 years, despite being really unhappy and unfulfilled. It wasn't until I was willing to examine and challenge my assumptions that I was able to open up to more fulfilling and satisfying possibilities with respect to my work and career. If I hadn't done this, I might have ended up working in a field that didn't satisfy or fulfill me for the rest of my life. Yikes! Don't let limiting assumptions keep you stuck living a life that doesn't satisfy you. I know first hand what that's like and don't want that for you. Grab a spot on my calendar today and let me support you in getting unstuck.