{"id":12002,"date":"2012-12-25T23:15:27","date_gmt":"2012-12-26T07:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=12002"},"modified":"2013-09-23T13:54:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T21:54:45","slug":"4-ways-to-stay-resilient-that-i-learned-from-my-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-ways-to-stay-resilient-that-i-learned-from-my-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Stay Resilient that I Learned from My Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I have never been an easygoing person. Not once has anyone ever described me as laid back. I always assumed it wasn\u2019t in my DNA to be calm and peaceful. When things went wrong, it destroyed me. I had coping skills, but they weren\u2019t effective, unless you consider drowning your sorrows in bottles of wine and pans of brownies healthy. Sad but true, when things didn\u2019t go my way or my expectations weren\u2019t met, I felt desperately inept at holding myself together.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I kept waiting for my life to change–for things to start going my way. And that\u2019s when I finally realized that life doesn\u2019t work that way. It doesn\u2019t simply go the way you want it to, no matter how much you wish or pray about it, and even sometimes no matter how hard you work at it. More often than not, life is simply hard. You don\u2019t often get what you want, and most of us certainly don\u2019t get what we deserve. We just get what we get. It\u2019s how we cope with it, embrace it, and learn from it that makes us whole or broken.<\/p>\n

Once I realized this, it was a slow awakening. I didn\u2019t simply understand one day and wake up changed. Just like the reality of the alarm clock in the morning, I tried to deny it. I hit snooze. Pulled the covers over my head. Chased the last bits of darkness and dreams. But eventually, as is always true, I had to wake up and live my life.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, I took my cues on changing the way I lived from my dog. After all, she is <\/em>happy all the time<\/em>, so who better to look to for ways to live life? So I started to live like her.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Embrace the morning. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I noticed that every morning, my dog wakes up happy and realized there\u2019s no reason I can\u2019t, too. She\u2019s always snuggly and wagging and excited that it\u2019s a new day. Instead of waking each morning and wishing my life were different, I decided to wake up thinking of it as a new beginning. No matter what has happened the day before, the morning is always a new opportunity\u2014to change your attitude, your mood, your mind. That was a decision I had to make, a practice to put into play. I talked myself through it everyday until I didn\u2019t need reminders anymore. Now, my puppy and I awake to stretch our limbs, get some good snuggles, and go outside for some fresh air. Each morning, regardless of whether it\u2019s cold outside or I\u2019m especially sleepy, is a fresh start.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Use your senses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every time I walk the pup, she\u2019s constantly sniffing, listening, alert. I realized that I never paid attention to my surroundings. I was always too busy brooding\u2014looking at my feet or my phone or just lost in negative thoughts. Now, I\u2019m present in each moment of my day. I look up at the sky to notice its blueness and the way the clouds stretch across the horizon. I take deep breaths, inhale the crisp winter air, and give thanks. I listen to the last of the leaves crunching underfoot, and cuddle into the softness of my scarf. It makes me grateful for the small things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Sing!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me preface this by telling you: I am not a singer. But, my dog absolutely adores it when I sing. She wags her whole body when I sing to her each morning and cuddles right up to me during her lullaby each night. I sing Taylor Swift and Queen and Sir Mix-a-lot and butcher every last lyric and note. But guess what? It makes her\u2014and me\u2014happy. You can\u2019t belt out Bohemian Rhapsody and stay in a bad mood. It\u2019s a scientific fact. Ok, maybe not, but it\u2019s true for me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Show affection.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter what has happened in my day, my puppy is always glad to see me. She wags. She jumps. She gives kisses and cuddles. She cuddles up to me when I sit on the couch and sits on my lap when I work from home. While her affection doesn\u2019t exactly translate into my world, I take a cue from her by smiling at people on the street, saying good morning, holding doors open, and paying compliments to friends and strangers alike. Not surprisingly, it makes me feel good to make others feel good. To send my sister a \u201cjust because\u201d card, bring my co-worker his favorite snack, pick up the tab when I get coffee with a friend\u2014it all makes me a happier person.<\/p>\n

How does this translate into resilience? Well, I\u2019m a happier person. Not because I have the perfect job or family or friends. Not because I have loads of money or my ideal figure or an amazing apartment. Not because I\u2019m dating the man of my dreams or getting married or having a child. I\u2019m happier because I\u2019m grateful. I realize that for all the things I don\u2019t have in my life, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, more to appreciate. When things don\u2019t go the way I\u2019d hoped, it doesn\u2019t destroy me because I can recognize that there\u2019s so much I have that is good, and there are so many reasons to be happy. I allow myself to feel sad or hurt or angry, but it doesn\u2019t consume me. I feel it, and then I move on from it. I wake up to a new day, sing to my puppy, and say hello to my neighbors while the first snowflakes swirl around me.\u00a0 I can see the bigger picture and realize that these are all small moments in a much greater scene. Rather than pursuing happiness, I\u2019m just letting myself be happy.<\/p>\n

——–<\/p>\n

Melissa Woodson is the community manager for @WashULaw, a <\/em>Masters of Law<\/em><\/a> in U.S. Law <\/em>offered through Washington University in St. Louis that is considered a premier <\/em>LLM degree<\/em><\/a>. In her spare time, she enjoys running, cooking, and making half-baked attempts at training her dog. You may find her personal blog at <\/em>hungryhealthymj.com<\/em><\/a> or follow her on twitter <\/em>@hungryhealthyMJ<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have never been an easygoing person. Not once has anyone ever described me as laid back. I always assumed it wasn\u2019t in my DNA to be calm and peaceful. When things went wrong, it destroyed me. I had coping skills, but they weren\u2019t effective, unless you consider drowning your sorrows in bottles of wine and pans of brownies healthy. Sad but true, when things didn\u2019t go my way or my expectations weren\u2019t met, I felt desperately inept at holding myself together.
\n Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":12171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32,6],"tags":[4641,81,1055,4629],"yoast_head":"\n4 Ways to Stay Resilient that I Learned from My Dog - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once I realized this, it was a slow awakening. I didn\u2019t simply understand one day and wake up changed. Just like the reality of the alarm clock in the morning, I tried to deny it. I hit snooze. Pulled the covers over my head. Chased the last bits of darkness and dreams. But eventually, as is always true, I had to wake up and live my life. Funnily enough, I took my cues on changing the way I lived from my dog. 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