Ever tried telling a dog “No” and had it actually work?

Yeah. Me neither.

Luna has a thing for socks. Mine, mostly. I’d catch her trotting off with a pair and say, “No.” She’d look at me. Drop it. Then pick it right back up when I turn away…

“No.” Drop. Pick up.
“No.” Drop. Pick up.

I said it so many times I started to feel like the problem.

Here’s what finally worked. I quit trying to take the sock thing away. I gave her a different job. “Drop it” turned into “Sit.” “Sit” turned into a treat.

Same Luna. Same sock. Different focus.

You can’t delete a thought. You have to give your head something else to do.

Think about the lines you hand yourself throughout the day.

“I’m bad at listings.”
“I’m behind this month.”
“Who’s going to pick me with my numbers?”

Telling yourself “Stop thinking that” is the same as me telling Luna “No.” It just goes back to the sock.

Give it a replacement. Something true. Something you can say on purpose, even when you don’t fully believe it yet.

“I’m getting better at listings every week.”
“I’m behind, and I know my next three calls.”

Then say it again tomorrow. Put in those reps.

Be as patient with yourself as you’d be with a puppy.

(No trick here, all treats… Happy almost Halloween!)

In peace,
Shonn