dog kisses

So this happened last night...
What started out as a cute moment with my neighbor dog who came over to play turned into a blurry selfie of a dog licking my cheek.
You see, I'm not a dog person. I'm not going to be a dog person. Ever. I don't want to be a dog person.  They bark.  They smell.  They slobber. They require attention and food.  The list could go on and does.
But, somehow...someway...this dog has worked his way into my heart.
I love this dog.  He loves me.
Maybe it's because he comes and goes aften a few minutes of play time.  Maybe it's because he doesn't try to take over my side of the bed.  Maybe it's because I have two teen boys and am used to more random smells and the constant disappearance of food occurring.
Who knows the reason why, but this dog is special to me. So, last night when attempting a pic with him and I saw what was about to take place, I braced myself and allowed a dog kiss to be planted on my face.  I still jerked a little, as indicated by the blurry pic, but usually I'm bending, flailing, and making my getaway far ahead of a wet tongue touching my face.  Really, it's just...ick...I can't even...
This time was different.
Because my thoughts about this dog are different.
Because he makes me happy when he bounds toward me as he sees me and hears my voice calling his name.
Because my time with him is usually short and I want to make him feel loved when he's with me.
When I started to think about why I allowed my neighbor dog to lick my face, I started to see a pattern developing.
My mindset changed about this dog, so my reaction to him is different than with other dogs.
A similar thing happened when I changed my mindset about exercising.
For years I thought it was about spending hours on a treadmill and doing cardio things that I just did not enjoy and found tremendously boring.
But, I pushed play on P90X, not knowing what it or who Tony Horton was.  I just made up my mind one day I would become stronger and pushed play.  I opened my mind up to trying something new even if still under the umbrella of "exercise".
Like with my neighbor dog, though, because my mindset was different, my reaction to this certain exercise program was different.  It endeared itself to me.  I was drawn to it everyday for an hour; sometimes longer.  I felt better after spending time engaging in its methods and, perhaps, a little madness.
You see, by spending time with my neighbor dog, investing in him, and allowing my "no dogs allowed" sign to be taken down, I have found my soulmate in the doggie world.  I never thought it would happen, but when I met him at just 8 weeks old, I was willing to try.  We have been best buds ever since.
Similarly, like I have found my soulmate in the dog world in this pup from next door, I have found my soulmate workout in P90X.  By changing my mindset about the reason I would workout, I tried something new.  I learned to open myself up to new challenges, things I did not know I would like or even love to do.  Once it happened, the door was opened to a whole world of options and new things to set goals toward and challenge myself to accomplish.
So, my encouragement to you is to think differently about exercising.  Perhaps nothing has clicked yet because you haven't found the one for you yet.  It's out there.  If I found one, anyone can.
Dog kisses still aren't my thing, nor is cardio, but some days I welcome both into my world to make me a better person. Inside and out.