Wellness, Mental Health & Hank

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to attend a dog show with my best buddy, Hank. The entire goal of the weekend was just to have fun in the ring. We spent our time in the ring playing some of our games like spin, bark, sit up, and his new favorite- “high five”. We were doing great; he was happy and looked amazing. Then something happened in the owner handled group ring, there was a lot of barking coming from the other side of the building and the Bassett in line behind us joined in the barking. Poor Hank was startled, he did not know what to do. He looked to me for guidance and I just took some time to refocus him. We went back to our “goal” of fun and just played some games. That helped him get over it and we were able to finish competing for the day and nobody even noticed his minor issue! You can see his "high five" below courtesy of Ringside Hounds.

That experience made me wonder. How do we incorporate the idea of “fun” into our own lives and how do we use it when we are struggling? Just even taking time to reflect on something that was fun in the past can help you refocus in the moment and be able to push through a tough task or rough moment. I almost think of it as a bank account where we deposit our good memories to withdraw when needed. When was the last time you did an activity purely for fun? Did you do it with no expectations of winning, losing, or “creating” something? The challenge for this week is go out there and just have some fun!

Author: Lydia J.