Things Learned From The Family Dog – part 1

Welcome to my weekly blog.  Each week, I will share some insight on topics such as goal setting, personal improvement, leadership and soft skills (dealing with people).  The information shared will be from my 10+ years in working with personal and leadership development.  From time to time I will have “guest” bloggers sharing their knowledge and insight. 

Throughout December, the weekly blog will feature “Things To Learn From The Family Dog”.  I will be covering 4 topics:

Week 1 – Lay
Week 2 – Sit
Week 3 – Speak
Week 4 - Love

Feel free to share your thoughts and how this info has helped you.

Enjoy!
            Things Learned From The Family Dog – part 1

Lay

There is no denying we live in a fast paced world.  Communication is shared at warp speed.  Job demands seem to increase every year.  Then, there is family responsibilities not to mention quality time with a spouse, children or other family members.

Everywhere we turn someone or something is tugging at our planners / calendars wanting more and more of our time.

With all this pressure and stress in a fast paced life, one would think it is easy to fall asleep the minute our bodies hit the mattress and pillow.  Yet for many, their body must wind down.

And, for some the body may be horizontal, but the mind is vertical and running to keep pace with life.  For others, the sand man is replaced with thoughts of tasks that need accomplished the next day. 

So what is a person to do?  We know we need rest. But, getting a solid 8 hours is a luxury or maybe even a utopian idea.

How can we relax when there is still so much to do?

The answer is quite simple.

For years, I have observed the various family dogs we have had – and I noticed there is one constant.

After the canine makes that ridiculous circle over and over to make sure they fit in the space, they all do the same thing to prepare themselves for rest.

Once in a laying down position – every dog will let out a huge sigh.

Why?  It calms them down from the stress of worrying about their owner or being on “guard duty” (no matter how effective or ineffective they are at it).

Try it.  Once in bed in a comfortable position – just take in a deep breath.  Hold it momentarily.  Then exhale slowly.

In doing so, you are sending a message throughout your body – saying it is time for rest.

From there, I like to do a mental preparation for sleep exercise.  I imagine my mind as a giant Etch A Sketch.  Mentally, I click “save” on all my data.  Then I imagine my mental slate being wiped clear – so I have no data floating through my mind.

It works every night for me.

Try it – and let me know how you do.

Have a great week.

Ron

To schedule Ron to speak to your business, civic group
or organization, contact him at:
ron@ronorendi.com
717-802-0483