According to the experts, today is “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day!” Apparently by January 17th many humans give up on their resolution, and get back to their old habits. But that’s only because they don’t have Asa as their personal coach cheering them on to continue with their goals. Therefore today I’m sharing a few of his favorite songs as motivation to help you keep those resolutions on the long road ahead. After all, studies have shown that music helps to make tasks go by more quickly and more enjoyable.
Making Time to Exercise: Let me begin with a song that Asa and Mom sing on early morning walks. Often in the winter we have to leash up before the sunrise to make sure we get our morning walk in before starting work. Then with the sun setting so early in the afternoon, it is often dark again when we finally have time to take the humans out for their after work walk. The following cowboy song is one of Asa’s favorites to sing, and one which the original lyrics are too perfect to change.
I’m up in the morning before daylight
And before I sleep the moon shines bright!
Singing ki yi yippee yappy yay
Yippee yay
Singing ki yi yippee yappy yay!
Weather Related Motivation: Speaking of winter, daily exercise can also mean going out in all sorts of weather conditions. Here is Asa’s parody of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” that keeps us moving forward even the harshest winds.
How many times must I walk down this road
Before you do your business?
How many trees must we stop and sniff
Before you stop and pee?
The poop bag, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The poop bag is blowin’ in the wind.
New Diet: Let’s face it, a new diet can wreak havoc on the digestive system. When Asa’s having a bad day, he parodies the Bon Jovi’s song “Complicated,” into an ode to unpleasant issues when doing one’s business.
I’m constipated, I get frustrated
Right or wrong, love or hate it
I’m constipated, I never should have ate it
Can’t debate it, I saw that leaf, and I ate it
It’s alright, it’s OK, I wouldn’t want it any other way
Momma keep on walkin’ cause I ain’t poopin’
I’m constipated!
Prioritizing Oneself: Self-care is really important and learning to say “no” can be hard, especially if you’re Asa and want to please everyone. However, I like to be a positive role model for my brother, by always putting myself first. This inspired Asa to write the following parody to a song by Helloween. With just a slight change in lyrics, it is the perfect reminder that it is alright to tell someone leave me be, because there’s nothing wrong with a little alone time in nature.
I want out, to live my life alone
I want out, leave me be
I want out, to do things on my own
I want out
Because my name is Chuck Billy!
Keeping Motivated Despite Repetition: And finally, as much as we love taking Mom and Dad for walks, it can be a little boring taking the same route every day. To keep his paws dancing, Asa will croon a parody of a song from the 1940s, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” It reminds all of us how fortunate we are to be together.
I’ll be walking you
In all the old familiar places
That these paws of mine embraces
All day and through
In the sun and rain
The road across the way
Through everything to sniff
I’ll always be walking you.
So on this “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day,” I hope my brother’s song parodies can help motivate you to keep on trying to reach your goals. And if you do decide to celebrate Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day, remember it is never too late to change it to be my go-to resolution of Play More Fetch!
