3 Life Lessons, As Taught By Pets

Throughout our lives, many of us have had the privilege of growing and learning alongside a pet. And while growing alongside our pet(s) of choice, we have all learned numerous things. But believe it or not, your pets have also been subconsciously teaching you things along the way, too: lessons that only a pet could give unto its owner.

1. Take Life a Little Less Seriously

I wouldn't be the first to admit that I sometimes let life just dictate my every action, emotion, and motivation--and I highly doubt that I'm going to be the last person to experience this, either. But pets? Pets never let anything stop them from fulfilling their life purpose. Granted, a pet's life purpose might be a tad inferior compared to those of their owner, but the point still stands--no matter what a pet faces, they always manage to take life in stride and never let the little things get to them.

2. Don't Stress the Little Things

This point branches off the prior, but once again, pets do a fantastic job of not letting things get to them. Again: sure, they don't have to worry about things like grades and taxes, but for the things that do set them off (such as baths, vacuums, and thunderstorms), they always seem to snap back incredibly quickly. Stress can be an incredibly overpowering ordeal for some individuals, but trying to focus straight ahead and taking the situation with a dog's perspective--that whatever ahead is worrying you is only a temporary problem--may end up helping you in the end.

3. Be Honest With Yourself, and the World Will Follow

You may have heard of fake people, but have you ever heard of a fake pet? Personally, I haven't, and that's honestly one of the things that I find fascinating about pets: they don't understand the concept of having a fake personality; they realize that somebody will appreciate them for who they are, even if it takes a while to find somebody. And truthfully, I wish I could say I was like my pet because I can recall numerous occasions where I pretended to be somebody I wasn't, just to gain the approval of people around me. It's never a fun time pretending to be somebody you're not, but pets don't even understand such a concept. And hopefully someday, so will I.