My daughter wanted a dog. My son wanted a dog. My wife wanted a dog. I was given a sheet of paper on the fridge with beautiful third grade handwriting promising walking, poop pickup, and eternal constant care and supervision. We got a dog. And Dad donates an hour a day for the next 15 years to walk the dog.
Animals are a responsibility that remains when cute wears off. I live in a harsh winter climate that my dog happens to love. I also recognize that I almost never want to walk the dog. I enjoy the woods, but I enjoy freedom in the woods, not keeping my grass-eating, deer chasing, every-smell-stopping, every-butterfly-distracted dog who has yet to calm down around strangers. I had to come up with a mantra. Something that would guide me.
There is no weather, there is only walking the dog.
I’ve walked in -5 farenheit. I’ve walked in rain. I’ve walked in blizzards. I’ve walked swarmed with mosquitoes. The common theme is that I walk. Because I realized the weather was a convenient excuse. Turns out, when you take away the excuses, the walk isn’t that bad. I’ll snowmobile in crazy weather, play football in the rain, and fish in the heat. The weather is only an excuse.
I wonder what else is an excuse? My eating patterns? My attitudes? Growth comes when I decide and biuld systems around decisions that are important. Systems work when habits don’t.
There is no weather. There is only walking the dog.
What is your dog walk?