I have written before about why I think attitude is so important and that it is a better strategy to learn to be optimistic rather than succumbing to the pessimism that the media use to attract attention and sell. People are known to subscribe more to bad news than they do to good news.

We also all know that people can have good and bad attributes and there are a lot of things that are happening in the world to get concerned about. On a personal development level – which is where we can have the most influence (be the change you want in the world) – one way of thinking about ourselves is a model that we are composed of two competing dogs.

The bad dog has all our bad habits which often are associated with immediate gratification and the good dog has all our good habits which often need a sustained investment to be realized. How do you win? Feed the good dog.

Another way of putting this is to play the long game so you can achieve the compound effect of the growth mindset.

Seth Godin writes a lot of excellent stuff that encourages us to think optimistically and exhorts us to feed our good dog (and ship what we make). Rather than letting ourselves get distracted by thinking how challenges in the environment are making things difficult, he identifies the significant progress that has been made to lay a foundation for opportunities associated with the current challenges.

While it may seem that “things” are currently bad, they are actually wide open with plenty of opportunities. Just like they have been previously.
In the future when you look back, what will you have to say for yourself?

Feeding the good dog prepares us for the chance of a lifetime.
Seize the chance so you will have lots of good things to say for yourself.