So I’ve been taking care of my girlfriend’s cat for the past month since my girlfriend moved to San Diego for a new job. Although my sleep has been dramatically reduced (the cat is a big fan of the morning wakeup), it has been nice having a pet around during my slower season.
I’m definitely more of a dog guy. I say this often, but the cat has grown on me.
This week, I noticed one area in where cats probably have dogs beat.
I came back on Sunday night from a wonderful weekend celebrating the wedding of two of my friends. Unfortunately, while sitting on my layover in SFO, I realized I was coming down with a cold. I’m now a few days into it, and just trying to get better.
When I get sick, I get lazy. Super lazy.
For the past few days, I’ve just been snacking on things here and there, watching tv, and taking as many naps as humanly possible in hopes that I’ll be better by this weekend. This also means that I don’t get around to dishes that often.
With dogs, I’d have to worry about this. My childhood dog, Ashley, and my sister’s (awesome) dog, Chloe, eat just about anything in site. If somethings falls to the ground, they are there to clean it up.
Cella, my girlfriend’s cat, is the opposite. She’s incredibly selective about what she eats. She loves and adores her cat food, but hasn’t even remotely touched any chips I’ve left unattended, or a piece of bread I may have accidentally dropped on the ground. She would probably eat 20 times the amount of cat food I give her if I actually gave her that quantity, but she won’t touch much else.
What if we were this disciplined?
I’m not talking about food, although I would like to eat a plant-based diet as much as she likes to eat her cat food.
Rather, what if we pursued our days more like cats than dogs?
Walk with me here on this metaphor.
If we’re talking food, I tend to go about my day more like a dog. Consuming every little task that comes my way: facebook, texting, television, music. If something falls to the ground, I’m easily distracted and “eat” that.
But if I could go about my day more like a cat, focusing on the important task and getting excited about “eating” it, I think I’d be much better. Cella wakes me up bright and early every morning because she wants her cat food.
Imagine if we woke up each day as equally excited about pursuing some of our major goals, rather than the minor “dog scraps” we get caught up in. The possibilities could be pretty incredible.