My dogs have always been a good barometer of mood for me. Especially when we’re on our walks together.

After reading an article about why letting your dog sniff is important for their well-being, I started to try very hard to indulge Ginger, my rescue cattle dog who loves very little more than she loves to sniff.

Not that I ever rushed her, exactly. But now, I was really letting her take her time and batting back my urge to give her leash a gentle tug to get her going.

What I started to notice was that when my anxiety was amped or I was feeling uncertain about something, I was less likely to access my patience and more likely to keep her moving. When I’m feeling anxious or on edge, there’s a lot more “Let’s go, Ginger” and a lot less of my own taking notice of my own surroundings.

Not rocket science, right? Of course my patience is thinner when I’m feeling anxious.

What’s key here, for me, is the ways in which the routine of walking my dog has also allowed me to more robustly gauge my emotional health more routinely, too.

I don’t consciously walk my dog and continually ask myself: How are you feeling?

But I am aware enough that when I notice I’m rushing Ginger I can answer to myself about whether it’s just life, like I’m late for something and I really do need Ginger to move with a little more purpose, or if something deeper might be going on.

And when it’s something deeper, I can lean into disrupting the cycle of anxiety and slow down. Sometimes that’s taking a few deep breaths. Sometimes that’s a quick grounding exercise through my senses where I name what I can see, feel, hear, smell and taste.

In today’s world, everything feels urgent, and you might feel like if you’re not moving fast, you’re not doing enough—or anything at all.

But so much of what you care about in this world requires intention.

My invitation to you today is for you to find something routine that might allow you to more easily access your emotional barometer. When you feel yourself getting activated, think about some of your favorite ways to slow yourself down, and then do them.

Slow down, so you can keep moving.

The Light Links

Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day”

Box breathing relaxation technique: How to calm feelings of stress or anxiety

Andrea Gibson’s “Your Life”

Are Cats Actually Liquid?

The Oatmeal’s “Taking Care”