How do you feel about change? Do you love it, or do you fear it? I love change! You know why? Because without it, I’d still be that same person I was 6, 10, 15 years ago. I would still be stuck exactly where I was. Change is scary for all of us, but I can’t imagine my life without it. Over the past 5 years you’ve followed my career journey, and I’ve been so fortunate to follow yours. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since we started sharing our stories in November of 2011, the month...
Can you tell by now that Nolabees has a lot of energy? She requires a lot of activity in order for me to stay sane. I never miss my daily walk with her. I can’t, or she’ll torment me all day. I have to admit, though, I do love my walks with Nola. It gets her out, and it gets me out too! I love to see how happy it makes her. And let’s face it, it makes me happy too. It gives Nola a chance to interact with the world, and every day she entertains me with a silly,...
People say that they’ve learned the most in life from their experiences as a parent. I think I get it. I learn a lot from my child, too, even if my child is a dog. I’m amazed at how much you can love your little one. Sometimes I love her so much that I want to eat her up. I know that sounds weird, but you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve heard you say those weird things too. Then there are times when she does something that pisses me off so much, that I almost hate her, for...
In recent weeks Nola has been teaching me how to move on from conflict. She is a pro, but do I have it mastered? Not even close! However, I do feel like my response to a recent event was a great first step to mastering this craft. In my last post I mentioned my success leaving behind a bad experience I had. Here’s what happened… On my way to the gym, I was trying to turn right at a red light. There was a lot of traffic that day, intensifying my impatience. When I finally saw an opening, I quickly...
In my last post I marveled at how easily Nola is able to immediately let go of another dog’s aggression toward her. I even gave myself a little pat on the back for being so relaxed about it too… as if I’m always so calm, cool, and collected. It wasn’t until I read this comment from a reader, that he reminded me that I’m not always as skilled as I’d like to think I am at “shaking it off.” He said: If dentistry taught us something, its being able to move on after that last excruciating conversation with someone who’s...
Last week I wrote about the human decency that we can learn from (ironically) dogs. Later that same day 2 interesting things caught my attention. First, on a walk with Nola, we ran into her old acquaintance, Lady, whom we hadn’t seen in a while. Deep down Nola always wants to jump on everyone she sees, but somehow she has learned a little about how to greet other dogs. She usually knows to come in slowly for a more smooth greeting. She often cowers down, puts her bum on the ground, and sometimes even rolls over on her back. It...
Isn’t it great when small things make your day better? One of my favorites is seeing happy, friendly people when I’m out and about. I love it when someone thanks me for holding the door, holds the door for me, or even smiles as they walk by. Those simple gestures have the power to quickly lift my spirits. Life seems a little bit easier when we allow these small joys to help carry us through our days. Okay okay, I know I sound like a hippie, but it’s true. My Crazy Nolabees (yes, she’s Crazy with a capital C,) needs...
Adapting to life with Nolabees has been quite a crazy transition. She has been such a fun addition to our lives, and at the same time she is a lot of work. I’ve never really had a puppy of my own before. It’s different when you’re a kid and you don’t take much responsibility in the care of “your” puppy. Now that I’m on the hook for feeding her, cleaning up after her, taking her for walks and much more, I realize that it’s a bit like having a kid– except on a faster track. Of course that’s coming from...
You may have noticed I haven’t written any blog posts in a while… or maybe you haven’t. Either way, I’ve been a little distracted lately. I have been working on some really cool things, and one in particular has taken up a lot of my time. Her name is Nola, or as we sometimes call her… Nolabees! (more…)
We all loved reading about my friend, Ritu’s story about her decision to sell her practice and take a break from clinical dentistry for a little while. It was great to hear from several of you who have also made your own changes and are inspiring others! I’ve asked Ritu to write one more post. In the first one, she shared her story to let you know why she chose to sell her practice. Since she just wrote the amazing book, The Energy Shift: Increase Your Energy and Do More of What You Want Every Day, I asked her to...
