Am I crazy?

Am I crazy to agree to a new puppy in the house? We haven’t had a dog since we moved to Australia.

Her name is Pepper Hutchison.  See how ultra-cute she is?

I’ve discovered through this process that puppy training is not what it used to be.

The old fashioned way was to use rolled up newspaper and reprimand it when it did something wrong.

The new way that I’ve learnt is to teach it words. So when it’s sitting, you say “sit”.
When it’s lying down we say “down”.

Each time she does the right action, we say the corresponding name. We don’t ask her to sit or anything else until she actually understands what the word is.
The theory is that in a few months, she should sit when asked, and lie down when we say down (I’ll let you know how that goes!)
When you give it a treat, move the treat from it’s nose over the back of it’s head, till it sits. then give it the treat and it learns to sit for treats.
The positive reinforcement is very important, and that is how they learn.
Now perhaps you knew all this long before I did.

I wasn’t really much of a dog person (preferring cats) so although I’ve been around dogs my entire life, I’ve never been the one to do the training.
My point is this: if positive reinforcement works so well with dogs, isn’t also logical that is works well with people too?
“Yes”, I hear you say, “Duh, obviously”

We all know this, and yet, how often do we use positive reinforcement to create the behaviours we wish to see in our own life from ourselves and from those around us?

How many times do we say ‘thank you’ when someone is doing what they are supposed to do? Do we take them for granted?
In business particularly, when things get a bit rushed, it’s easier to only comment when the wrong actions are being taken, rather than to notice the 90% of the time when the right actions are taken.

 

My challenge to you today:

1. Congratulate yourself for everything you do right today.

2. Notice and congratulate those around you when they do something right.

3. If you notice someone with an awesome attitude, comment on it with the #awesomeattitude tag on social media!

4. Let me know how you go. Add your comments below.

Have a great Chooseday,
Kind regards
Jill

PS: we still have a few places available at the next Think and Grow Rich mastermind starting in January.