The Personal Development Blog

Me and my partner, Marianne, just got our selves a dog a few months ago. It is a Schipperke, a miniature version of the Belgian Shepherd dog. I have, with great interest, noticed some of the characteristics of the Schipperke. There are actually a few great qualities we can learn from observing it.

As you probably can see from the picture he (his name is Aro) is a small dog, but he has the proportions of a normal sized one. The average weight of this breed is only 6.5 kgs (14.3 lbs).
The first of his characteristics I think we can learn from is this:

- He does not care about his size. It really does not affect him at all. If we take him for a walk and meet someone with a larger dog, he gets treated like an equal by the larger dog. How can that be? My conclusion is that size does not matter. Would it not be great if we humans could look at our selves the same way?

You can choose how you face the challenges of life. You can choose to be submissive or you can choose to be self confident about it. You might not think that this is true, but it really is. Self confidence does not come natural for everyone, but everyone can learn it. A person with a low self esteem will never get the same respect from others as one that is sure of him/her self. If you want others to look up to you and listen to your opinions, you have to train your self how to be self confident. Never show fear.     

Another thing I have noticed about Aro is this:

- He is independent and curious. He is constantly looking for action and not afraid to walk into unknown territory. Every day he wants to go a little further from the house than the day before. He is an explorer.

You too should be an explorer. Would it not be a great thing to experience something new every day? The thing is that you will have to be a seeker. New experiences does not automatically come to you. You must systematically seek for it. If you spend all your time within the safe domain of your own home you will miss out on a lot of valuable experiences. If there is something you have always wanted to do, go and do it today. Be curious!

Here is one last quality I have noticed that Aro has:

He is extremely loyal. This dog would never leave you behind. One of the most important rules, when it comes to friendship and family, is loyalty. Without loyalty there can’t be any true friendships. You should be loyal to everyone that means something to you. That does not mean that you can not disagree or even argue with them. It just means that you must know where your loyalties lie when a storm breaks loose. And your friends and family should know it too.

So, there you have it. I think these are all good qualities that we could learn from. Of course Aro also has a few not so good qualities (haven’t we all? :-)), but I’m not going to mention those in this article.

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