True But Useless

The majority of the content that we publish at the Optimal Dog is informational in nature.   We identify an interesting health or fitness question, we research and think about it, and we regurgitate our conclusions.  You, our readers, read the answers and, perhaps, learn some new information.

And, sometimes, that’s it.  In those cases, you become the proud owners of a shiny, new nugget of knowledge!  You can turn the new idea over in your head, tweet it out to your friends, and even talk about it at dinner parties. Yippee. We can hardly contain ourselves.

In those underwhelming instances, the new informational content that we transmit to you is “T.B.U. “– true but useless.

Why? Because the passive accumulation of knowledge of the physical world is of no value unless that knowledge is also put to use in some meaningful way.  The purpose of this blog is not to teach you information, it’s to help you improve your dog’s health and wellness. There’s a big difference.  Having knowledge and putting it to productive use are two very different things.

But this big difference is really quite a simple one -- the crucial distinction between simply possessing idle knowledge and putting that knowledge to active use is motivation, a by-product of emotion.

That’s right.  You can have all the knowledge in the world but you won’t ever put it to use unless you marry it with some kind of emotionally-based motivation.

The trick to priming yourself to put your knowledge to work in your life is to find your personal motivation.  With respect to making lifestyle changes that will improve your dog’s health and wellness, there are many options.  Maybe, for you, it’s the fear that your dog will live a needlessly short life, leaving you without her loving companionship.  Maybe it’s the sadness that comes about when you realize that your dog’s life is missing many of the joys and pleasures that it could otherwise be filled with.  Or maybe it’s the palpable exhilaration of progressing toward and achieving your goal of improving your dog’s health.

No answer is more correct than the others on a general level.  It’s all about finding the most correct answer for you.  But until you find your answer all the knowledge in the world won't get you anywhere.

Have a great Wednesday,

- Coach Dan