Is this dog smarter than you?
It was high noon on Memorial Day. As I sat on the sunny porch with my dad, waiting for the village parade to go by (as it has for 50 years now) I noticed his neighbor had a rather unique dog.
It was a black lab. You could tell it was young, not puppy young, but young enough to be super curious and playful. Full of energy this dog.
“What’s so unusual about that?” you may be asking.
When he turned the other way to run back from chasing his ball, I could see that he had just three legs. One of his rear legs was missing. But it didn’t slow him down a lick!
I asked my dad if he knew why he had only three legs and he told me it got hit by a car after the family had him just a week. They had to choose to either put the dog down, or to amputate the injured leg. They chose life for this little fellow. And the dog couldn’t be happier.
To his mind, he’s just a dog. Like any other dog. He runs, he plays, he jumps. Just a little differently than the other dogs, but he gits-r-done! To his mind he has not lost anything. He is what he is. He works with what he’s got. And he doesn’t bemoan the fact that others have more to work with.
And that’s when it occurred to me that this dog beats many humans in that regard. So often we dwell on our perceived shortcomings. We dwell on “if only”. We feel handicapped in some regard. If not physically, then mentally. We focus on the wrong things and let them excuse us from trying. From doing.
We all have shortcomings. Fact is, there will always be people we perceive as “better” than us and people “worse” than us. But that doesn’t negate the value of our contribution. Our way of doing things, even if half-baked, might just be the key to someone’s kingdom. Your way of explaining things might just resonate with them in a way that no one else can.
Focus on your strengths. Focus on what’s good about you.
Forget about comparing yourself to anyone else at the start. Just do your thing. If you want to write, then write. Don’t be the judge and jury all by yourself before writing the first word. Write it and send it out. Soon enough the market, your clients, your fans, the people who matter to you will let you know if your message has value.
Focus on the good in you. What you know. And share.
Don’t get beat by no dog! Go play.
If you need help, I’ll help you. Just ask.
