What I've learned from my dogs

Sometimes when I come home at night I feel like I've accomplished so much in my day and yet I still have so much to do! Laundry has piled up, bills need to be paid, calls need to be made, never mind about the cleaning.

Then I sit down, and take a deep breath, and look around me. I see my dogs starring back at me, watching my every move, curious as to why I am such a busybody all the time when all they do is sleep, eat and play all day. I can almost see them shaking their head at me, saying, "I try to tell you this all the time, but noooooo, you won't listen to me. You just don't get it that life will be the same whether or not you get everything done on that list or not."

For those of you who own dogs, you know what I am talking about. Upon arriving home, these little balls of fur instantly remind me that life is about the simpler things: laughing, playing, eating, sleeping, walking, mindfulness, and spiritual guidance(whatever that may be). When we junk up our lives with too much extraneous crap, our focus gets clouded, and it's like our souls are being fed a very poor diet. My dogs serve as the spectacles I need to re-focus my life on what is important to me.

I've also learned from them some very important principles of fitness. If you've ever watched a dog "play", this is their form of exercise, whether it's walking, jogging or retrieving a ball. It's fun for them. Whatever happened to having fun exercising?!? We need to find our retrieving ball too and allow ourselves to make exercise fun again. We have to stop telling ourselves that we can't do something, for whatever reason. Think for a moment of something you've always wanted to do, but didn't, and then brainstorm why. Now take those reasons why and break it down further by asking yourself, why has this reason for not doing "x" prevented me from really accomplishing my goal? You'll find that the reason behind why you said you could not do something is actually not the real reason at all, but is something much different, and probably related to some type of fear that you have. Once you have decided to conquer that fear, there is nothing that can stop you from reaching that goal - besides you.

Another great thing I've learned from my dogs - particularly from my little wiener dog Freddie - is that rest is a great thing and should be revered as much as exercise. Play hard, rest more. When working out, your muscles actually suffer tiny micro-tears in the tissue that get repaired based on how you recover. Once these tears are repaired, the muscle tissue actually gets stronger. Rest is part of that, diet is the other. A great post-workout snack consists of 20-30 grams of carbohydrates and roughly 10-20 grams protein. Make sure you rest and eat right in order to keep your body operating in it's optimal state.

And last - but not least - I've learned the true value of friendship from my dogs. I've never known unconditional love like the love they give me. No matter what is going on in my life, or theirs, they will always be there right next to me. Nothing can beat that little tail wagging!