We are creatures of habit. We do things the same way day in, day out. For some things this works - brushing your teeth daily, for instance, is a good habit.
When we repeat an action, we make a path in our brain so that we can do it easily, without thinking. For your teeth this is ok. But you can improve on this experience by getting other parts of your brain working too.
Brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand can drive new neural pathways, and wake up parts of you that don’t work as efficiently as they might. It’s a simple thing, and it feels very clunky to begin with - but think of the flexibility it’s building in your body and your mind!
For all the daily habits that make your life run more smoothly - because you don’t have to think about them - how many things do you do that really aren’t worth doing? And how would it improve your life if you looked into some of these habits forensically and made some changes?
While you ponder that, think of our dogs:
Our dogs are habitual creatures too.
They are right- or left-footed, just as we are right- or left-handed (and -footed!). They turn the same way in their pre-sleep circle. They sleep in the same spots in the house. And maybe their daily routine is the same every day.
How much more do you think your dog can achieve if you change this up a bit? No need to break old habits if they serve you both, but how about developing some new ones?
If you always do things the same way, in the same order, your dog can sleepwalk through her day.
Keep your dog guessing!
Be unpredictable! Keep your dog guessing! She’ll have to pay more attention if you do things differently.
And so will you.
So what sort of things can you change?
🐾 If you always turn right when you leave your house, try turning left - or just cross the road and turn there.
🐾 Do things in a different order. If you always feed your dog before you prepare your own dinner, cook first and then feed your dog.
🐾 If you always enter a park or field and follow the path round the edge, try walking straight up the middle.
🐾 If you always feed your dog from a bowl, try scatterfeeding, or feeding from a tray or foodtoys.
🐾 Zigzag on your walk instead of going in a straight line.
Yes, these are very small changes, but they can have a big effect.
Leaping around and barking!
You’ll have noticed for sure, that when you do certain things you get the same guaranteed result from your dog. Again, this can be a good thing if your dog spins round on one call and barrels back to you!
Want to learn more about how to build up the GOOD habits? Enjoy our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!
But there are some sequences that you could do without.
Like the sequence when you put on your coat or pick up the lead: of hysteria and over-excitement from your dog, leaping and barking and racing around. This you could certainly do without! And it’s been built and grown and you’ve carefully nurtured it by repeating the same sequence every single day.
So take your coat and go to another room to put it on. Instead of getting the lead, sit down and read for a few minutes. Do keep half an eye on your dog’s expression - it’ll be very comical!
Put the lead in a different place. Leave by a different door. Do whatever you can to alter this sequence so that it’s like brushing your teeth with a different hand. You are causing your dog’s thoughts to go down a different, new, neural pathway - one without the leaping and frantic behaviour!
She doesn’t know what’s going to happen next so she has to pay attention and learn a new way. Dogs LOVE knowing what’s going to happen next. They LOVE predictability.
Hence being unpredictable is one of the best ways to get your dog to pay attention to you!
Habits can be useful
Some habits of course, are useful. The habit of looking both ways before crossing the road; the habit of using an oven glove when you open the oven door.
But some can be counter-productive - even destructive!
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. John Dryden
I’m thinking of the habit of self-criticism. Maybe you spent your early life being criticised by family, parents, teachers. And now they’re not there, you fill the gap so you can continue this habit of self-deprecation, encouraging a feeling of worthlessness. The habit you created is now in the driving seat!
You may struggle to find a way to get over this, to allow yourself to blossom as you should. Drop me a line and let’s have a conversation about how you can change this and flow freely towards what you really want.
Don’t accord privileges to destructive thoughts, just because they’ve been around for a long time!