Lessons from Kids and a Puppy: The Art of Emotional Reset

One of the greatest things I’d love to embody from my kids and our pet dog is their effortless ability to reframe emotions.

Kids don’t hold onto feelings for long. They can cry one minute and laugh the next. They experience emotions fully, but they don’t stay stuck — they live in the present, not in grudges.

My puppy teaches me another lesson: unconditional presence and joy. Whether I’ve been away for an hour, a day, or a week, he greets me as if it’s been a lifetime — tail wagging, eyes shining, love overflowing. There’s no calculation, no hesitation, just pure, wholehearted welcome.

What if we lived more like that?

• What if we could release negative emotions within minutes instead of replaying them for days?

• What if we could show up to people in our lives with the same warmth and intensity, like every meeting was the first and most important?

It’s not easy — it takes consistency, awareness, and a deliberate mindset. But with practice, we can retrain ourselves to let go quicker, reframe faster, and choose love and joy as our default.

And when we do, we don’t just create happiness for ourselves — we radiate it to those around us. That commitment, day after day, can truly change how we live and how others experience us.