lifestyle

10 Minutes to a New You

Quite the statement. 10 minutes to a new you. Sounds a bit like one of those click here now and you’ll make a million dollars by next month deals. But it’s not. In fact, this is something that is for real. It only takes a 10 minute effort daily and even better, it’s free.

The Habit Course

Last month I was inspired by Katie Tallo and an article she wrote called The Power of Baby Steps to participate in the Habit Course. I’m amazed at the results 10 minutes a day did for me.

First let me ask you how you start your day off?

Most likely a cup of coffee. Then immediately open the e-mail? Facebook? Or start running around in a crazed effort to get yourself organized and out of the house?

I can so relate. At least with the cup off coffee, e-mail and facebook part. It’s exactly what I did every day and until I decided to take on the habit of writing for 10 minutes every morning instead, I did not realize how this routine disrupted my focus, affected my energy for the entire day and filled my head with random thoughts that left me feeling far away from accomplishing anything.

Why 10 Minutes Changed My Whole Day

Doing what you say you are going to do is huge. When I first committed to this I found out what exactly I was doing with my time. I couldn’t believe the habit I had of opening up facebook. Basically a way to avoid what I needed to get done for the day.

Sometimes I think social media provides a way for us to look for direction in our day. We kid ourselves all the random thoughts and announcements are going to give us good ideas for the day. Be inspiring. Add to our motivation. Or we are actually living vicariously through these people we don’t even really know. Or maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves by seeing what people consider to be something that should be announced to the world!

What I found was it actually confused me. My focus was lost. I could easily surf around, loose track of time and start rearranging my day because of lack of intent. Or I wouldn’t start a project because I had taken too long in the world of what everyone one else was randomly doing usually with no direction either.

When I started writing for 10 minutes first thing, right after a drinking a glass of water and making my cup of coffee, I noticed the difference in how my day started right away. As the days continued writing for 10 minutes each morning, I noticed I started getting a lot of other things done during the day. Things I would have normally put off or said in my head I’d do tomorrow.

I got clear about what I wanted to do every day, including play time. It’s turned into getting big projects done over a week’s time. It turned out that my energy and my focus was seriously effected by what I did in the first 10 minutes of my day.

I feel like I’m a new improved me all over starting the first 10 minutes of my day differently.

Choosing Your 10 Minutes to a New You

Pick something to focus on for the first 10 minutes after you get up.

Make it something that is good for you.

Yes drinking a glass of water is highly recommended but that’s a minute deal. Do that, make a cup of coffee or tea and pick something along these lines for the first 10 minutes of your day:

Take a 10 minute walk.
Do yoga.
Mediate.
Write in a personal journal.
Send a thank you note to someone new everyday.
For dog owners, take a walk with your dog.
Teach your dog a new trick for 10 minutes each day until you dog gets it. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your dog actually learns with just a little bit of time spent on it each day.
Apply that same theory to yourself!
Plan your meals with eating colors in mind.
Read an inspirational quote. Then write your own version for the day.
Start the novel you’ve always wanted to write.
Write a love note to your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend.
Write down 7 impossible things you’d like to come true before breakfast.
Say out loud all the things you are grateful for.
Write out the picture of your perfect day.

This is your life. Live it. Start with the first 10 minutes of everyday.

If you find this exercise difficult at first don’t feel bad. Take note of the excuses you come up with in your head.

And then do what I learned works in starting a new habit and increasing the joy in your life.

Just freakin do it anyway. Whatever that thing you picked for 10 minutes is.

You’ll find it won’t be long and it actually becomes something you just do.

What is your new 10 minute start to every day? Leave it in the comments. Feel free to contact me for support for your intention and a boost in your “just do it anyway” and really get to the new you in 10 minutes a day.

Thanks for reading. My hope is to give you inspiration and thought provoking ideas to take your very next step in creating your own paradise from where you are now! Please subscribe to Big Island Dog and follow me on Twitter. Retweets are cool too.

As a 9 time Ironman finisher, change maker and author and creator of 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs and K9 Cross Fitness Classes in Kailua Kona Hawaii I encourage you to make that change you want so badly today!

Too Old For the Gaga Look?

I don’t watch tv much. In fact I didn’t have one for 8 months. It was really awesome. However, my husband loves tv and since I do my thing and spend time writing and reading, the type of activity he doesn’t really participate with me in, he got a tv for himself.

I’m really glad we have a home that has an ohana as it’s called here in Hawaii (a place for friends and family to stay seperate from our general living area). That’s where the tv is conveniently located, in my opinion anyway. I don’t have to hear it or watch unless I choose to do so. Which is very rarely. Tonight was one of those nights. I watched The X Factor (like American Idol) with my husband. The artist aspect was intriguing.

The Gaga Factor

A 21 year old petite girl got on stage, wearing a colorful strappy dress slit up the side. Black bikini peaking out. High boots. Hair bleached. Bright eye make up. Red lips. Artful tattoo crawling down her arm.

When asked what she did with her life besides sing, she said she was an auto mechanic and planned on building race cars.

She preceded to let her voice rip and she rhythmically moved about the stage. She acted like a pro. She was confident. She had her look. She was doing her thing. She engaged the live audience. She engaged me. She was showing who she is. She had her own style.

It was different than Lady Gaga but the idea was there. She had her own thing going about the way she looked, and what she’s choosing to do with her life.

It made me think about my “looks” throughout various life stages. I’ve always had my own sort of “look”. But the thing that struck me tonight was that as age happens is it just expected that we calm down the look? Become more like the norm, whatever that is?

Am I too old for the Gaga look?

Lucky for me at 47 I’ve decided I’m not. But for a few years I was living like I was.

I realize I had become much more conservative. I started fitting in. Looking like everyone else.

For me the move to Hawaii changed my wardrobe drastically. First of all, I got rid of most of it. The things I do wear now, I wear because I want to and it works with the weather. Most days I wear short shorts, short skirts, big hoop earrings. I started wearing eye liner again because I like it. I wear a bikini most days. I have some really cool necklaces that were all tangled up before I moved. I straighten them out, kept the cool ones and now I wear them again. I like whimsical.

This is Your Life. Wear What You Want.

I don’t have that many things any more but they are different and I realized watching the show that ThIs Is My Life, wear what I want.

What’s your Gaga look?

Are you hiding behind what you think everyone else thinks you are supposed to wear?

Are you sporting a certain look because everyone around you decided it was this year’s fashion statement?

Do you think it’s ok to wear short skirts at almost 50?

Can you be a minimalist and have your Gaga look? I say yes, how about you?

Hydration | How Much Should Your Active Dog Drink

How much water do you need to stay hydrated? The blanket answer is 8 glasses. That’s for us humans. What about our dogs? How much water do they need to stay hydrated and what if your dog is overly active?

How Much Water Should My Dog Drink?

Make it simple and it helps to do the right thing. Find out what your dog weighs and figure 1/2-1 oz of water per pound. My Weimaraner is 65 pounds. That means she should have 36-65 oz of water per day.

This is the simple formula. Of course activity and weather can make a difference so common sense needs to be taken into account. In other words, the low end of 36 oz is not sufficient if you have taken your dog out on an hour plus trail hike in warm weather conditions in the 65 lb. example. Make sure to go to the 65 oz end of the formula, especially if your dog has had an all out session, like my Weimaraner tends to do!

Checking for Proper Dog Hydration

Dogs are not able to say they are thirsty and the situation can be easily overlooked by an owner not realizing you have to not only lead your dog to water, but in many cases you need to show your dog to drink it as well.

You can check for proper hydration in your dog by:

Check for a Dry Nose

If your dog’s nose is dry it’s past the time that water should have been consumed. Time to lead your dog to water, and encourage the action of drinking it.

A dry nose is not the only sign of a dehydrated dog. Keep in mind your dog can have a wet nose and still be dehydrated or on the verge of really needing to drink.

Elastic Skin

Skin loses elasticity as it loses moisture. There’s a good reason to stay hydrated yourself as well. Skin without moisture will remain wrinkled. Ewww… maybe a little water drinking could save a whole lot of dog owner botox treatments!

Check the back of your dog’s neck by pinching the skin between two fingers. When you let it go if the skin goes back to laying flat your dog is hydrated. If the skin remains squished or wrinkled your dog needs to get some water intake going as soon as possible.

Checking the Gum Tissue

One can get technical about this or one can think about it in easy terms. When you run your finger over your dog’s gums, if it feels a bit slimy, you have a hydrated dog. If the gum tissue isn’t slimy, your dog needs to drink and is on the dehydrated side of life.

The technical way is by using a method to check for capillary refill time. To do this when your dog is hydrated pull the lip up and press your finger firmly against the gums until the tissue appears white-ish in color. See how long it takes for the gum tissue to fill to pink again.

Now you have a baseline to see if your dog is dehydrated in times of activity. If when you remove your finger the tissue looks gray in color or takes a long time to refill to pink, your dog is dehydrated.

So there you go, you can choose to use the slimy method or the capillary refilling method. Either will help you determine how much water your dog needs.

How To Get Your Dog To Drink

It is true that sometimes you can lead a dog to water and yet they won’t drink it even if they need it. You can make this a habit by enticing your dog to do it, which is a fun way to say: train your dog to drink.

Tricks are the best way to train dogs and ourselves to do anything. After all, if it’s fun you’ll do it, and so will your dog.

Use a treat to entice your dog’s nose to the water bowl, drop the treat in the bowl and as your dog takes a little water in while going for the treat, put the word “drink” to it.

If your dog likes ice cubes you can do the same trick. Drop the cubes in the bowl requiring your dog to drink to nab the “treat”. I use ice cubes as a full on treat and my dogs love it. A very sly way to encourage your dog to drink more water.

Done enough times it will become a habit and you can fade the treat by offering it sometimes and not having it others. With repetition your dog will automatically start to drink. When you say the word at the moment your dog is drinking you are pairing the action with the word repetitiously. You’ll begin to illicit the automatic reaction to drink when you say the word and your dog is in proximity of the water bowl.

Another quick fix for some dogs is to add a little beef bouillon to the water mixture. Lab type dogs can’t help themselves. They’ll drink in the hopes of food appearing!

Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please subscribe to Big Island Dog and follow me on twitter, Facebook and Google+

As author and creator of 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs, Treading for Dogs and K9 Cross Fitness Classes in Kailua Kona Hawaii I encourage you to make that change you want so badly today! Get out and get fit with your dog!

The Big Island Hawaii

Welcome to Big Island Dog… my first post to our new life with our dogs and what we want to enjoy, appreciate and share on the Big Island of Hawaii.

I have two dogs, a Weimaraner and a Lab and a wonderful life partner, I call him G . We decided to live our dreams in our 40′s rather than waiting until later, when the economy recovers, when we get to that “retirement” age… whatever that is, or any other excuse most of us have become accustomed to accepting as the reason we stay in jobs, careers and lifestyles we wish were different.

The articles and insights you’ll find on this site will include many lessons learned in this process. It includes how I dared to say I wanted to become a minimalist. This from a woman who came to find out had four closets full of clothes alone before we even get into all the Mac computers and gadgets, sporting goods and dog training equipment packed away in my garage, most of which I had forgotten I had, or simply couldn’t find through all the stuff. Even the dogs missed out on a lot of fun with the over abundance of “stuff” in our lives since most of it was in bins and shelves piled amongst things I might need someday, never to be actually used.

Funny thing is when it comes to the dogs, now that all the stuff is gone and we are actually here in Hawaii, they are back to having the most fun ever and the toy that came along with them?

One simple tennis ball! Same for us, only one of anything and only the things that we would actually use. Everything is simplified.

What do the dogs have to do with it all?

I train dogs. Yes I have been called by many “the real dog whisperer” as well as a life coach (also adopting this label from the many who have described me as this)… that covers health and fitness, business and personal in case you were wondering if you might need this type of thing in your life! I enjoy teaching both things and in fact they really do intertwine. It comes down to what we focus on, what we put our energy into, what we think about and who we spend our time with…. and for me it includes a whole world of dog things that can apply to how we live, play and show our authentic selves.

What you’ll find in Big Island Dog

Why we have dogs
How to live with more play in your life
How to leave bad behavior behind and focus on what you want (that’s for you and for the dog)
Create simple habits to build a lifestyle of joy around
Develop your life to have the best day ever most of the time
Build your business or work around your life passion
Make a difference in the world

I hope to inspire others to follow their hearts, live out their dreams and make the world a better place though the playful eyes of a dog. As the creator of dog wellness programs, health and fitness, and coaching people who are ready to take their lives to the next level, reaching their full potential, I welcome you to the best day ever…. everyday.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post please share it, follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to The Healthy Living Wag Report.

Jt Clough, has studied, applied and taught others how to create a balanced life with calm dog training techniques through her lifetime commitment to health and fitness. Clough is also the creator of dog wellness programs and author of the 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs and Treading for Dogs DVD, further inspiring people to introduce playtime in life through the eyes of a dog changing unwanted behaviors to practicing a healthy lifestyle.