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“What did you roll in?!”
Karly, one of my 3 dogs, came in from the backyard with goo across her back.
She’s known for rolling in whatever she finds. The stinkier, the better.
As I looked closer, I realized this time, it was gum. 😬🙄😒
I had no idea how to get this out… but I knew I needed to clean her up now.
It didn’t matter that I was supposed to be working. If I didn’t address it at this moment, I’ll have an even bigger mess on my hands.
I called one of my kids over to hold the dog while I turned to the source of all information, Google.
The first answer I found was ice cubes to freeze the gum and pick out. Ugh… I’ve tried that on clothes before, it was a pain and did not work well.
I kept looking.
Then I found an unlikely suggestion. Peanut butter. I had that. Worth a try, I suppose.
It definitely made an even bigger mess, smearing peanut butter all over her fur – while Karly desperately tried to lick it (she loves peanut butter snacks!).
It required grabbing the doggie shampoo, kid helpers and the hose to wash it all out. And miraculously, there was no gum left!
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
One of the first responses to a new idea I hear is, “Ya… but how do we do that?”
People start with the How.
And because it’s a new idea that hasn’t been done yet and you naturally don’t know how to do it… you get stuck.
The order of the questions you ask… matters.
Instead… use this order:
1) What do you want?
2) Why do you want it?
Only when you have the answers to these… 3) How will you get it?
When know what you want (get gum out of dog fur) and have a very compelling reason why you want it (it’ll make an even bigger mess if I don’t)… You have the motivation to figure it out.
Even if you don’t know how it’s going to happen, you know you have to start.
And once you start, step by step… you realize you’re making progress.
Reasons come first. Answers come second.
– Laura @ Mindtap
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
– Francis of Assisi
Italian Friar
