(As a creative editing/writing exercise I decided to reduce some of my earlier blogs to 200 words and then six words. Here’s the first. A six-word version appears at the end.)
On my daily walk, I’ve noticed signs encouraging people to pick up after 
their dogs. Seeing this sign in front of two houses last week, made me wonder about the daily, energetic impact on the homeowners. Every morning when they walk out to get the paper they get to look at a dog dumping on their front lawn. That white dog crapping on their lawn is a daily reminder of what they don’t want.
In an attempt to avoid a few frustrating times a year, the sign gives them that same negative thought every day. And, it will have little impact on the dogs or their owners. Even irresponsible dog owners know what to do. They don’t need a sign.
You can’t control how other people think or behave. All you can control is how you let their behaviors impact your vital aliveness. To stay enlivened every day, you need to shift your thoughts to those that are energizing. If you have your own daily version of a dog dumping on your lawn and it keeps your thoughts in a frustrated, ineffective behavior pattern—remove the sign.
Or, you can double down and sit on the front porch 24 hours a day with a BB gun.
Avoiding energy dumps,
Gary
Here’s a six-word version: Wooden Dog Crapping Looks Too Real
