POOPED OR PEPPED? What can a little 3 month old puppy teach me about the keys to happiness and success? Everything! As I was about to take our new puppy Dharma for a walk I stood outside the door with a leash in one hand and a plastic bag in the other and thought to myself, "Great, I'm going to be picking up dog poop every day for about the next 13 years." I even did the math and counted 3 poops a day times 365 days times 13 years. Then I realized how negative that was and knew I needed to change my thinking. So then I thought, "But think of all the joy she brings and will bring to my children, my wife, and me. The love and joy is clearly worth all that POOP." Immediately after thinking this positive thought I started to feel pepped while the negative thoughts made me feel bad. So the lesson I learned and want to share with you is don't let poop... get you pooped. :) Instead shift your perception and get pepped! Every day we can fuel up with the positive thoughts that make us feel good or hold on to the negative thoughts that make us feel bad. Positive thoughts strengthen us while negative thoughts weaken us. When we start paying attention to how we feel in response to our thoughts we'll notice that our emotions are signals that alert us to how we are thinking. Good thoughts lead to good feelings and negative thoughts lead to bad feelings. Feelings are our guide and are always letting us know whether we are engaged in what Zig Ziglar called "stinking thinking." If your stinking thinking is making you feel pooped you can recognize it, shift your mindset and fuel yourself with some positive energy instead. If you are unsure how to do this all you have to remember is gratitude and appreciation. Being grateful and appreciative will make you feel pepped. You may not like your job but you can be thankful you have one. You may have to drive in traffic but thank God you can see while others can’t. And while your life may not be where you want it to be you can believe that the future is bright and great things are happening every day. Life is full of poop and moments that make you feel pooped. But it's also full love love, laugher, joy, and fun that make you feel pepped. You can focus on the poop or embrace all the positive possibilities life has to offer and feel pepped.
When I think about this article and Dharma's life the poop was indeed well worth all the joy and love she brought us. Life is full of good and bad and it's about embracing all of it. In fact I would gladly clean up a ton of poop just to have one more day with Dharma. Her love made a difference in my life. RIP Dharma - Jon
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