 |
| Indie and me at UCSC. 🐕 🏃♀️ |
Today I ran the forest trails on the University of California Santa Cruz campus.
What a run! The sky was clear, the air was crisp with pine and eucalyptus, and the path was empty. I took one of our dogs, Indie, with me. I just adore her; she loves running in the forest-- everything is so ALIVE! (Plus, she gets to be off-leash at times.)
Running with her is also a great way to reinforce her training.
Today I noticed that I said five phrases to her throughout the whole run:
Leave It
Stay Close
Let's Go
Almost Home
and with much enthusiasm,
GOOD GIRL!
As I coached Indie away from another dog near our home stretch, I reflected on the commands I used with her.
What if, just for fun, I applied them to myself?
I saw it clearly: the Leave It command, spoken with authority, could redirect me when my mind ventures too close to negativity or self-doubt.
Stay Close would remind me to stay on track and stay focused.
I could use Let's Go to gently push myself when I lag.
Almost Home would renew my commitment when I near completion of a goal.
Finally, Good Girl!, repeated often, always with love, cheer and at least one exclamation point, could reinforce positive behavior and just make me happy. 🐶
No, I am not saying we should all talk to ourselves the way we talk to our dogs!
But, if you love your dog and talk to them kindly, it could be a fun framework to ponder.
For me, the beauty of the way I talk to my dogs rests in its intention, simplicity, clarity, and unconditional love.
Not a bad foundation for self-talk, if you ask me!