As part of Project Happiness Life with Dog as Training Partner this is one of the List of Seven Things - What you do EVERY DAY counts.... not what you do sometimes, or every once in awhile.
Big Projects Get in The Way of Little Projects... or is it Little Projects Get in the Way of Big Projects?
I’m not really sure... what I do know is one of the two was stopping me from getting things done... or I should say in comparison to some... all the things I want to get done completed. For instance.... I have a private dog training website that has become less than ideal. The platform it is set up on pretty much sucks and the cost per month is ridiculous. I mean way ridiculous, especially when one is looking to live a cash based lifestyle as one of their goals.
Why throw money away (actually quite a bit of money) on something that doesn’t really work right on a monthly basis? In this case I can tell you it’s simply because the job seems to big to tackle.... and I keep telling myself that I’ll find “a block of time to get the whole thing done in”.
Yeah, right. So far those kind of statements when I reflect back on them have never worked. Yet I have continued to tell myself “I’ll get it done when I have a block of time when I can really concentrate on it”. That must be why I have all these lists that have been put to the wayside to start another list, (just for today... after all, I’m going to get to the big project on the other list “when I have a block of time”).....
What You Do Every Day Counts
So... my Project Happiness Life with Dog as Training Partner was based off of the book The Happiness Project.... and since implementing many of the concepts in the book, things have changed in a big way for me. Which is why I decided to apply it all to for those who have a dog in their life and are looking for the well trained lifestyle where you go out with the dog, get fit, have the dog be the coolest dog ever... and everyone wags more because of it. (you can start your own Happiness Dog Project by subscribing to the Healthy Living Wag Report)....
I came to the major realization that the big block of time is never going to come. And I decided I also do not want to be bogged down with these big projects always weighing on my mind. Through all of my successes these are the things allowing my brain to be programed with undue stress... because I don’t have this done, that done or the other thing done... and the kicker thing is... it comes down usually to the big projects that get my head in this space.
Implement what you do every day counts and this is what happens. I took the big projects I had and gave myself a little bit of time to work on them every day. It’s amazing how just starting the project changed the whole motion of the incomplete...
And here I am... feeling good about a bunch of projects that I have been wanting to complete.... like moving the Private Dog Training Site (which I found out as I work through the project has some kickass stuff in it...) I create, get it going and then tend to discount the fact that I’ve got really good stuff in the quest to create more good stuff.
I think it’s probably true for everyone. We are so programmed to look at what isn’t going right, or what we don’t have done... that all the cool things you actually do get done never get the due credit they should.
Moving the training site, finishing touches on more than one lifestyle with dog e-books, of course... my commitment to bringing Project Happiness Life with Dog as Training Partner to the lives of as many cool dog owners as possible... my fitness, I love my fitness and even someone like me can end up not getting out and getting it done in the quest for “the block of time”.....
All stuff I do every day..... and I’m finding I’m getting so much more done. I’m so much more happy about it and we are all wagging more.
Life With Dog
How does it all pertain to life with the dogs? The block of time theory is one that comes to mind when I think about so many of my clients who have come to me with the problem dog.
It’s usually one or two or maybe three behaviors that are driving the owner to such frustration they finally call me for help training the dog. Yet, when it comes down to it, the concept of “I’ll fix this with the dog when I have time” comes into play for many owners when it comes to what they do with their dog every day.
For instance.... if you have a dog that constantly pulls on the leash... so much so that it is not fun to take the dog as your fitness training partner... ya know, that daily walk or run you have committed in your head to do.... but maybe haven’t implemented “What You Do Every Day Counts” method on it yet?....
This is one you can get done by implementing a couple of simple things to creating the picture your dog is going to stay by your side. It’s a matter of doing it consistently and doing it every day. Pulling is something that has become a habit... we tend to throw our hands up in the air and allow the buck em bronko type of walk or run with huge frustration to happen... instead of taking the small steps to replace this habit with not pulling.... in What You Do Every Day Counts....
• Never let your dog pull in front of you
• Stop, turn in another direction
• Make several turns quickly
• Mark the moment your dog is not pulling with reward...
praise, treat, pet...
• You have to slow down to get change the habit
• Don’t try to keep moving in forward motion if your dog is pulling
• Dogs do what works.... if you don’t move forward when they pull,
the pulling will stop
• Show your dog the place you want him or her to be... next to you...
not in front of you
• It takes patience
• It takes consistency
• It takes time
What You Do Every Day Counts and you’ll make progress much faster than you think by doing it every day.
Read Running with Two Dogs... even if you don’t have two dogs there are good tips that show turns and stops and starts to get your dog on the path to not pulling on the leash...
And you’ll be well on your way to What You Do Every Day Counts... not what you do some of the time... or sometimes... or every once in a while.
And one more thing... you’ll have accomplished more than one thing you want to do everyday by practicing this... it’s important. The exerciserly thing for your fitness, your lifestyle and a well behaved balanced dog.
Wag More!
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