Tip #2 : Find the dogs

This post is part of a series I’m writing from mid-June to mid-November 2024, on things that helped me rebuild my confidence, sense of self, and increased my delight in my life after massive difficulty in multiple areas. For full details and post links to all 110 things, go to this post here.

Tip #2 : Find the dogs

This entire post is about training your attention to find more joy.

What is more joyful than a dog hanging its silly little head out of the window of a car, enjoying the breeze, entirely present in the current moment of life.

There’s science about this that you can utilize to your advantage (and for what it’s worth, Wikipedia is a good place to go for sources, not to use as a source). Confirmation bias, the red car theory, selective attention - all tools if you choose to use them.

Simply put - What you look for you will find.

And so if you are struggling to find joy, to feel delight, to have that spark of things in your being, then this is the baby step to expand that again.

I don’t see it as tricking yourself at all.

I see it as training yourself to notice details that are going to become crumbs and then sparks and then fuel and then a pattern you can use to find opportunity, more delight, and anything else you’re looking for.

Beginning to notice detail is especially important in a self discovery and improvement journey. There’s going to be a lot of times where your progress is small, the changes are not going to be massive, and the shifts you’ll need to adjust are tiny and in the detail, but will add up to make the big changes you’re looking for.

Extending your awareness outside of your internal state to intentionally seek out joy in the silly form of a dog, gets you outside your own brain and it’s trappings, and activates the start of the practice of collecting the good things from your life.

When you extend your vision outside yourself you can start to expand possibilities. We start everything a little bit at a time. Why not start with something as wonderful as a happy dog?

This silly little activity is one of my favorite easy things in all of this list of 110 things.

It works every time - all the time, no matter what stage of personal progress or life you are in right now. It helps.

Another reason I like this specific task, is because it is such a pure thing, not transactional, requires nothing of you but to witness the joy of a dog in the wind enjoying being alive and moving through the world.

What we want to invite into our lives, if you’re like me and have struggles with understanding how to relate to people, how healthy relationships should be, it’s wonderful to experience something that isn’t based in an expectation, that isn’t an exchange or a transition with wiggly clauses and unfilled unspoken expectations.

Dogs don’t require anything of you. They just love. They are just happy AT you. It’s wonderful. I love dogs.

When you haven’t been able to feel much for a while, this practice is a great reintroduction It is an easy addition of positive energy no matter how big or small your worries are, and like mentioned, what you look for you will find.

Being able to feel delight again is a small proof of the possible. From possibility you can grow anything, I really believe that.

For bonus points, or to exponential your delight from the dog - TELL about it. Send a text to a friend from the list you made yesterday and tell them about the dog. Snap a picture. Keep track of how many dogs you see in a day when you’re out in the world.

Notice these small delights when you find them, and share about it.

Look for the dogs, I dare you not to feel better.

Thank you for being here -

xoxo - Marian