Devoting yourself to helping others is one of the most complicated jobs there are. I would think it is a calling. The moment you help others, you help yourself.
The difference lies only in the intention and the disposition that one has towards life. In such, the decision to help, is a personal opportunity that strengthens character and improves self-esteem.
What does helping others mean?
In other words, helping people, providing support, etc., are good acts that improve the quality of life. But, beyond being a good action, these efforts directly and immediately benefit the person who performs them.
It is at that moment when it makes sense to share the knowledge, experiences and tools that worked and teach them to those who need them. To put our whole being at the service of others, which in my point of view, is what reveals the purpose of life.
By working side by side with the elements of nature and specially horses, the results are long term. Slowly, people begin to have a greater awareness in their self-knowledge, identification and regulation of emotions until they become the best version of themselves.
This makes them reach their best version, overcoming difficulties and awakening their unlimited potential, their personal power, their creativity and resources. And, because of this they can continue to explore, discover and draw their natural talents, knowledge and skills.
Many people who do this type of coaching have long, sad faces, rigid bodies, they are stressed or bad tempered. Some are filled with fear or conflicting emotions, others with health problems or difficult personal situations.
It is incredible but horses in their immense wisdom, in silence and without judgment, teach people the many possibilities of improvement that exist.
They are animals with great strength and power. Slowly they are transforming, healing, awakening feelings, doing and thinking. Understanding and observing their process during coaching.
At the end, people come out confident, with strength, understanding and clarity in the subject that has been worked. They radiate well-being, health, joy, peace, balance and happiness.
“Happyou”
That’s how I came across “Happyou”. They are a group of people who are dedicated to helping using nature and especially horses.
Although I had a lot of information about it, the questions started to pop naturally. This was paused, fun and very enlightening interview.
Solkes: How and why was this project created?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: Happyou was born as a life project between Juan Sebastián Gómez and myself. It is born out of the idea of living and building together our own dreams, of experiencing, preparing and reminding ourselves to be happy.
Solkes: Why focus on helping people?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: To achieve the noble ideal of helping others, we must first begin with ourselves. It is when we experience something in our flesh and blood that we acquire tools or skills and discover talents or gifts that we learn to use in different life situations in order to overcome fears and obstacles.
In Japanese and means: “Announcement, Publication, Declaration”.
I found the name very interesting. Soon I learned that it comes from the intention to “Make you happy”. In English it is written Happy You. It occurred to us that leaving a single “Ÿ” would work very well for them.
Horse Coaching
Solkes: What is Horse Coaching?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: When we talk about horses, we should first talk about nature, where we find the eternal source of inspiration! It is like a library with living information and constant movement, constant change. We use plants, rivers, trees, insects, wild animals, dogs, cats and especially horses. All these living beings teach us great lessons in life, coexistence, leadership, collaboration, nonverbal communication, respect and balance in their natural habitats… becoming models of behaviour that, when observed and understood better, can be taken as an example or mirrors of our lives.
The experience of reconnecting with nature is magical.
Solkes: How does the “coaching method” change when working with animals and with nature?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: Doing this with the help of nature and an animal such as horses, increases confidence and gives us the opportunity to face intimidating and challenging situations in life. We can say then that in Horse Coaching the horse is the facilitator, coach and / or healer in whatever our process. In addition, in Coaching assisted with horses, there is a methodology. The classic coaching structure is maintained, with the great difference that they are incorporated to the horses in the stage, which makes that the dynamics change. It goes from being a coach-client relationship to a coach-client-horse relationship and becomes a totally vivid experience, so all that is learned is deeply engraved.
Power of horses
Perhaps one of the things that caught my eye is how important horses are to helping people. I was not surprised at all, but I did not know much about it. The strong relationship that has existed between man and horse is millenary.
The horse, before approaching another animal, looks at it, creates space and distance. Humans by nature tend to approach them without much secrecy.
In addition, it is an animal that gets used to the environment that surrounds it. They are always surviving in the best way, in the wild. However, when a person decides to have the horse under his care, he makes them “surrender”.
It must be taken into account that the horse will be willing to give himself in full whenever a person treats him with affection and gives him the right conditions. As I understand it, the performance of the horse depends not only on him, but also on the work, dedication, love and discipline imposed by his rider in training together.
It is a proven fact that horses help people improve interpersonal relationships. People are able to understand horses and communicate with it through sounds. You can achieve a very close and authentic bond with them.
That great, noble and powerful animal makes us feel our own strength and power, teaching us how to overcome many obstacles and develop multiple and new strategies for our personal, professional and family life.
The work of the coach and horsemen is to know the horse deeply in order to interpret and give feedback, to understand what is happening. To show areas of improvement, to enhance skills, qualities and strengths that we can improve on ourselves.
Through this experiential training, not only with horses but with a stage full of natural stimuli, it is possible to obtain an exciting and revealing experience.
Solkes: What does it mean to help a person be his or her best version?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: It means to accompany the person in a process that only they can choose to immerse themselves in. Once this commitment is generated, the target is visualized, a plan is drawn to reach it, and the path to the target is started.
Solkes: Do you consider that being an enterprising woman is complicated in today’s world, in Colombia?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: I lived for many years outside Colombia, almost 16, and to be honest, it is very difficult to be an entrepreneur here, not only for women but for any person as there are not many facilities or considerations. But something I’m sure is that there is no better place to build this dream than in my country, with my people, my family and friends. I believe that it is becoming easier to be an entrepreneurial woman; we have a different touch, we put beauty in what we do.
Generally, we always hide something, an important piece that is needed to unravel the emotional web that has been weaved.
Solkes: What is the difference between life coaching and healthy mind?
Catalina Rojas Gutiérrez: Life Coaching or Life Coaching pursues the well-being of the person in different areas such as: purpose of life, life projects, personal mission, personal goals, strategies of change, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Then we can say that a healthy mind is a key piece of the mechanism. A fundamental piece for the clock of life to be in harmony, generating positive thoughts.
The keys
To achieve a successful work they have come to the conclusion that we must repeat four things every day:
1. Acknowledgments for everything. And if you do it singing and / or dancing, much better!
2. Respect other people, always.
3. Have a good attitude in all situations, so be difficult.
4. Smile as much as possible.
It is necessary to put the soul to what is done. For this, it is important to constantly work on ourselves to be our best version every day. Then to learn to work as a team, trust in ourselves and in others. Putting our life to service.
What is 100% evident is that Happyou is a process of lifelong learning for all the people who come and for ourselves. Each person is different and therefore it is necessary to personalize each process to connect with its essence, with its own nature and among all achieve the great goal of being examples in life, happiness, well-being, prosperity, peace and balance, love, Respect, harmony and beauty.
