Last week, I was on a long walk with our small family dog, Sparky, after a dinner. Not sure who needed the exercise more. Although
it was a well-worn path for both of us, this particular walk taught me a lesson
about my dog and about me.
Sparky is a smart
Maltipoo, but he is not a particularly well-trained dog. That’s a direct result
of having a poorly trained owner. We have to be careful about leaving doors and
gates open or Sparky will run like the wind.
This walk started off
like business as usual (if you know what I mean). Sparky decided to
continue his sniffing in one spot longer than I preferred, and I gave the leash
a gentle tug. As I discovered later, Sparky’s dog collar had been loosened just
one notch while he was at the vet’s office the day before. So this time, his
little head popped right out of the leash and he was free to roam, run,
skedaddle or well, run like the wind!
He sat there looking
up at me, seemingly trapped. In reality he was as free as he had ever been. It
was like a smorgasbord of all the smells and critters he could sniff and
chase... like a Vegas buffet for dogs! But Sparky stood still, paralyzed by the
unknown of this freedom. I reaffixed his dog collar, allowing him to assume his
normal comfort zone.
Hmmm, I thought. How
many times have I stayed within my own self-imposed boundaries? Probably more
often than I’d like to admit. How about you?
We often condition ourselves to live and work in a
smaller world because of our own limiting thoughts, but we typically have more control and
freedom than we think.
To
realize our potential, we must re-condition our thinking to stretch beyond our
comfort zone. Remember, growth and
learning occur when we are uncomfortable. So, take off your "mental
dog collar" and explore new limits!
by Lee J. Colan
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