“Muddy Dog” Thinking …how our thinking can be like dogs rolling in the mud

click on images to enlarge, for easier reading

I sometimes  find it useful to use  a bit of humor when I’m trying to learn or to change. Becoming aware of my own negative thinking is a bit tough as it is, so a tiny bit of humor about it can help...and, hence these pages…Muddy Dog Thinking.

I made the pages for my own use, but the 10 and 11 year old boys in my class loved those puppies and really got the ideas ..and it was a great way to help  both them  and myself become more aware of our “muddy dog thinking”.

Brad Warner, the author of that Tricycle article, Thinking Not Thinking , used the idea of “pigs” rolling in the mud…but I found that the idea of pigs less appealing, so I changed it to “puppies/dogs”  rolling in the mud.

I also used “muddy dogs”, because  I have direct experience with the huge amount of working and effort it takes to clean a dog up after it rolls in the mud…and the damage a muddy dog can do to everything around it…a bit similar to how negative thinking can be damaging both to myself and others.

So, the photos are funny, but I know that kind of thinking can have many unpleasant consequences.

And one more page: Thinking about learning to teach myself to shift out of “Muddy Dog Thinking”: a bit like putting the mind on a leash, or sending it to “Puppy Training School” (I did make this one special for one of my students: he loved it!)

ps…I bet it’s obvious…making these particular pages was sooooooo much fun!

Little  “Pocket Reminder Cards” that I made….both for myself and the boys, too….  : )  (Click image to enlarge) Or click  for Muddy Dog: Little Reminder Cards pdf link: may be slow to open)