Lessons From My Puppy
I just turned 50, and my husband got me an adorable labradoodle puppy for my birthday. Her name is Peanut. (A labradoodle is a combination of a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle.) We got her when she was just 8 weeks old.
Bringing a puppy home has reminded me of some of the early years in raising our daughter, who just graduated from college a couple weeks ago. I am reminded that as we teach and train – whether that be with a child or a puppy – we have an opportunity to learn a few of life’s great lessons along the way.
Here are three lessons I am reminded of…
Focus on what you want.
How often do you say NO instead of YES? Do you focus on what you WANT or what you DON’T WANT? Whatever you give attention and energy to, you will attract more of that into your life.
I have re-learned this lesson the hard way. When puppies go through teething, they chew on everything – including hands, ears, clothes – anything they can get their teeth into! I was scolding our puppy for nipping at me, and her negative behavior was escalating. Baby teeth are very sharp and I was getting increasingly annoyed. A few days ago my daughter and I went to puppy class with Peanut after having spent the whole day telling her NO. Exasperated, I asked the instructor what we could do to curb the nipping. She said, “Oh, that’s easy. You just don’t pay ANY attention to her when she does that. And when she is being good you praise her and give her lots of attention! She’s doing that to get attention, and it’s getting worse because you have been giving her lots of attention for doing it.”
That night we had a delightful evening with Peanut after class, as we immediately implemented our new way of handling her unwanted behavior. She was a completely different puppy!
Express yourself!
 
One of the things I love about dogs is that they are so expressive. Even though dogs cannot talk, they have an amazing way of expressing how they feel, especially with gratitude and appreciation. They wag their tails and use body language and their eyes to convey what they are feeling. When their feelings get expressed to a human, it attracts more of whatever caused that feeling in the first place (more attention, affection, playtime, treats, walks, etc.).
I wonder how we might attract more of what we want into our lives if we did a better job of expressing gratitude and appreciation.
Play hard & rest well.
 
It’
amazing how much energy a puppy has. And when it’s nap time,
they sleep solid as a rock.
We
could learn a thing or two from puppies. Most adults I know tend to
work more hours than they want to. That often means that for a number of our
working hours we are tired and must force ourserlves to work with low energy and
concentration. We may work longer hours, but the intensity of our
work is not what it could be. And when we have down time, we don’t
really know how to relax.
If
you're like many busy professionals, you are booked solid. In
between appointments, you struggle to catch up with projects,
reports, reading, phone calls, correspondence, e-mail, etc.
With the pace you keep, you probably feel fatigued…like you're
running on empty.
This can wreak havoc on your business or
career, as well as your personal life. Consider these common
symptoms of fatigue:
- Lack
of motivation and energy
- Irritability
- Reduced
productivity
- Reduced
efficiency and effectiveness
- Reduced
quality / increased mistakes
- Stressed
relationships
- Not having fun!
You
may be unaware of how run down you’ve become. Perhaps you
have bought into the old adage that "time equals money."
If spending more time at the office equated to making more money, we
could all retire early!
By now you've figured out that
more time at the office does not necessarily equate to more or better
results. In fact, it often means fewer results and more
mistakes.
Cheryl Richardson, author of Take
Time for Your Life,
has identified the enemy of rest -- adrenaline: "The increased
speed by which we live has contributed to a society suffering from
adrenaline overload more than information overload. When we use
adrenaline as our main source of fuel, our body's adrenal system--the
fight or flight response that is supposed to alert us to and prepare
us for danger--never has a chance to rest. This hyper-vigilant
state of fight or flight eventually makes it physiologically
difficult to slow down."
If you are one who has
difficulty relaxing when you have free time, your body is probably so
accustomed to running on adrenaline that it does not know how to
derive its fuel from healthier sources. It's time to start
practicing new behaviors that reduce your reliance on
adrenaline.
Restore rest in your life by trying some of these
ideas:
Need Additional Help Getting Organized?
This FREE webinar will help!
Is this you?
- Do you often wonder where the time went?
- Does your to-do list keep getting longer, even though it feels like nothing is getting done?
- Have you totally given up on keeping a to-do list? (After all, you're never able to cross anything off, so what's the point?)
- Do you have trouble finding what you need?
- Do you feel like you’ll NEVER catch up?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, we can help out by teaching you some powerful techniques that will help you increase your personal and professional productivity. In fact, don't be surprised if we can add an hour or MORE to your day EVERY DAY. Imagine what you would do with an extra hour each and every day.
Here’s what you’ll be able to accomplish when you attend my upcoming webinar and put what you learn into practice:
- Set your priorities and focus on what matters most (do this and you'll be amazed at how fast you can start crossing things off your to-do list).
- Remember important follow-up tasks BEFORE rather than AFTER…(wouldn't that save tons of stress not to mention embarrassment?).
- Efficiently handle mail, filing, returning phone calls and other repetitive tasks so you'll have more time to do the things you LOVE to do.
- Streamline information management and communications (no more time wasted on information that's "interesting but not relevant” to what you need NOW).
- Relax and enjoy a less cluttered environment.
Register for a FREE monthly
75-minute webinar:
(next webinar is Tuesday, June 9)
Buried in Paper:
Learn a simple five-step process to help you eliminate paper pile-up forever
|
|
|
Consultants, Coaches, Small Business Owners,
and Independent Professionals…
Attract More Business!
MEMO TO: Small Business Owners & Independent Professionals
FROM: Kathy Paauw, CPO, Productivity Consultant & Certified Professional Coach
I'll reveal a little-known marketing secret that unlocks the door to amazing new revenue possibilities AND makes you more productive. You'll capture money you've been leaving on the table in less time than you ever thought possible.
Click here for more information and to register
for this monthly webinar.
The next webinar is Tuesday, June 9!
|
|
