Sunday Inspiration – Why do dogs bark at the Mailman??

Sometimes I work from home in the hope that I can complete some of those activities that need dedicated think time.  The idea of an empty house and sometimes empty calendar give the illusion that I will move through the top priority items in my To Do list at lightening speed.  Comfy clothes, a cup of good brewed coffee, the dogs curled up on the floor in my office and I am set to go.

I have two dogs – Cleo is a 10 year old Goldendoodle and Parker is a 5 year old Labradoodle.  These sweet creatures came into the Budo family at a point we needed them most.  Cleo arrived when the children were old enough to take care of her and she added a lot of joy to our family.  Parker came to fill a spot in the nest when my oldest went off to college. ( I am not sure what I was thinking when I did that!)  Both dogs love me whether I deserve it or not and Cleo has mostly forgiven me for giving her the sister she didn’t really need.

Like most pet owners, the best part of my day is when I get home from work.  The dogs go crazy with excitement to see me.  That unfettered love seems to make whatever challenges I faced at the office seem a million miles away.

The mailman visits my neighborhood early in the day.  And the dogs go crazy – but not with excitement.  This past Friday while I was working from home, the mailman needed to put a package on my doorstep and you would think that several armed robbers had come to take me away.  I eventually gots the dogs quieted down and went back to work but it got me thinking about why dogs bark at the mailman.  After bit of procrastinating, I got my answer – conditioning.  My dogs view the mailman as a predator, and since that predator arrives every day, they are conditioned to react the same way – barking and carrying on until he moves on to the next mailbox – I am safe, their job done!  After my research I realized, I really should have done a better job training them!

Today is a rainy Sunday in Cincinnati and to continue with my Half Marathon training, I had a 9 miles long run to do.  While I enjoy running, I don’t enjoy the rain.  So, off to the gym I went, it was just me and the treadmill for 90+ minutes.  Conditioning.

I know my body is getting stronger with each training session I do.  But today especially, I was thankful for the conditioning I was giving my mind to keep going no matter how much I wanted to stop.  The trainer in my ear (thank-you Peleton ap!) kept me on track with good music and some words of encouragement.  Here are a few phrases I’ve heard before but really needed to have repeated this morning: “Change your mind, change your life.”   “My glass is half full – I know because I poured it!”   “Eileen, I know YOU CAN DO THIS.”  I finished the run and felt proud of myself again this week.  This conditioning reinforced a feeling to do it again and again.

What phrases do you use to keep going despite all the obstacles you face?  Please do share your words with me so I can build my list for the 10 mile long run next week!