Skip to main content

Mindset Like a Dog

This morning after getting the kids off to school I decided to take my dogs for a longer than usual hike on our local mountain. I took a couple big swigs of water, layered up, added hat and gloves, and headed out the gate.

The dogs knew what was up and bounced around me, excited and eager for whatever lay ahead. Yet every time they see me putting on my boots it’s like they have never been walked before. Their excitement is fresh. Every day.

How is it that they have no idea how long or short I am going to walk them, yet they are always down to walk? I never have to prod them out of their lethargy.  Rain, snow, or sun, they are ready.  Anytime. This got me to wondering what if I adopted this dog mindset? What exactly would that feel like?

*******

Recently I’ve felt flat. Not super inspired.  I’m attempting to increase my client base as a Mindset Coach and honestly renovating a 200-year-old house like in my former life feels markedly easier than landing new clients.

  It’s the end of February so maybe that contributes to this sense of same old routine, that flatness.  Same old mindset.  It feels like work to keep my body and mind in a positive and uplifted place.  Should it be work? Or maybe something else?

*******

I walked down the dirt lane that leads to the trails and as I watched the dogs trotting ahead this thought occurred to me: what do they know that I don’t?

What would that feel like to live their mindset?  I watched them closely to see what wisdom they would impart.

Here’s what I saw-

*They are always ready for whatever adventure lies ahead. No story about what it will be like – just totally present.

*They are constantly curious…nose to the ground downloading various smells.

*When I stop and take in the view they also stop, sit, and perceive.

*This feeling of presence that they convey – not living in the past or speculating about the future. Right now.  Are we running? Resting? Ok great…we are here. Now.

*******

As I did my best to merge with these dogs and their way of being I saw how easily I derail myself from this place of “now”.  How I take myself out of perceiving what is around me, what new experiences are available, without the past or future concerns influencing me and the ability to be completely present with the moment.

How I can I too be curious about the path I am on – nose metaphorically to the ground receiving information about my surroundings, my world?

What if each day that I wake up I channel that same excitement my dogs do when they know a walk is coming?

Semper paratus for what Life brings. Woof.

*******

Now can I get a biscuit for being a good boy?!!!

  Jamie Gilroy is a Mindset Coach working with men to unlock their fullest potential. Are you looking to tweak and improve some issues in your life? Are you interested in a free clarity call to investigate working with Jamie? Email him at jbgilroy@icloud.com Check out his website to learn more about the work he does: https://jamesbgilroy.com

Comments

Meghan Gilroy said…
So well written! Woof! And thanks for the present you brought back.
February 28, 2024 at 3:31 PM
Until the Next Time said…
Beautiful reflection Jamie! And such a beautiful way to practice living our lives!
February 28, 2024 at 5:48 PM
Hubz Team said…
Barkelous!!! Exactemente!!!
March 1, 2024 at 10:23 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cold Turkey Ain’t All Bad

Warning: If you’re young and healthy and never think about getting older and the world is your oyster and you are under 50 don’t read any further.     “Going cold turkey”.  The connotation is that we are giving something up.  Usually for good.  Things like heroin, or booze, or Oxy.  Things that really aren’t that good for you.   My cold turkey moment was bicycles.  Wait.  Aren’t bikes supposed to be good for you?  Yes, absolutely in theory.   However, in my case, not so much.  Of course, I loved the feeling of riding a bicycle – the rush of the wind, the freedom of motion, the ability to push my limits, and the boost in fitness.   All healthy benefits for sure. Except when crashes happen.  They will and they do. Typically, it’s some road rash or bloody knees and elbows with dirt applied. In my case it’s been all the usual get offs plus head trauma. It’s the “plus head trauma” that has me hanging up the bike for good.  I just can’t seem to keep from bashing my head when I do ...
2 comments
Read more

The Riddle

We all have an identity that we believe is who we truly are. As if that identity is static from birth to death. It is how we define ourselves. Ask me who I am and the reply will be – I am me. A man. A son. A brother. A father. A husband. Yes yes of course. But who are you really? What is this thing called identity? I have been so many different identities. Dishwasher. Cook. Baker. Carpenter. Contractor. Salesman. Graphic designer. Firefighter. Stay at home dad. Cyclist. Lover. Tyrant. Romantic. Destroyer. And spiritual seeker. Dreamer too. But maybe an imposter as well? Have I really been any of those things? And when we lose an identity, what then? Adopt a new one? Do we add and shed identities like layers of clothing? ******* How do we ever really know who or what we are? How does belief cloak itself around us to create a way for us to show up in the world? I want to please you. I will rebel against you. I am angry. I am sad. I am generous. I am...
Post a Comment
Read more

Waking Up with the What Ifs

Apparently last night I had been dreaming of a life I left behind 11 years ago.  Snippets of memory like peering through a gauzy veil, and scenes vaguely reminiscent of my life as a builder in a small coastal town north of Boston. I woke up with the What Ifs. You know how dreams are: like your eyes can’t completely focus, situations that are seemingly disconnected but maybe not, faces you know but can’t place, yet the feeling in the dream is quite real. I was back in Old Town and trying to figure out why the house I was in was unfinished. There was a meeting to be had there, but it was just me. I walked down a cobbled street to what I figured to be the office of the architect and it was a room of all glass and about 10 people seated around a glass table. I tried to get the attention of the man who was the architect on this particular job without disrupting the meeting. He looked like a friend who wasn’t an architect but a realtor and a neighbor.  I wondered how he switched care...
4 comments
Read more