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The Dog Days of Summer Are Over! 

 

 Sparky, my 15 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel!

I recently heard someone exclaim “The Dog Days of Summer Are Over!”  In my recollections, I had heard that phrase before, but it got me wondering… what exactly does it mean? So, of course, I did a bit of research and here is what I found…

To not bore you with a lot of history… The phrase, “Dog Days”, conjures up the hottest, most sultry days of summer. What and when are the Dog Days of Summer? 

The “Dog Days” are based in astronomy. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the heliacal rising (at sunrise) of the Dog Star, Sirius.

The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather (some of our hottest and most humid days occur after August 11), but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding, so they used the star as a “watchdog” for that event.

Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time. There is even an old folklore about the Dog Days as old timers believed that rainfall on the Dog Days was a bad omen, as foretold in this verse:

Dog Days bright and clear,
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times our hopes are vain.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1817

“The Dog Days of Summer” seem to bring forth the end of summer during this month of August… and most people aren’t quite ready for summer to end! School starts, College starts, vacations are winding down and the sun is already setting a bit earlier! And, depending on the part of the country you live in, the heat can incessantly continue!

August does bring forth change – you start looking ahead at resuming weekday work schedules, and balancing your children’s/teen’s school schedules, sport schedules and after school activities! You progress from the “lazy days of summer” to full on having to manage a new schedule of run here and run there to make sure everyone is where they need to be on any given day and at any given time. The middle of August can bring forth stress without even realizing it until you are knee deep into a new daily schedule that will last the next nine months! Are you ready?! Well, I have news for you; most people aren’t quite ready, even if they “think” they are! Transitions are hard for everyone!

During times of life transitions, it is helpful to be proactive and plan for them! Maintaining a bit of life balance is imperative to keep your sanity, maintain a healthy, positive outlook and mindset for yourself, your family and your relationships! I thought it might be helpful to share a fun infographic as you transition from Summer to Fall (gulp, did I really say that?) even if you aren’t quite ready to say “Goodbye to Summer” and start a new school year! And, if you don’t have kids in school, you are still finding yourself in a transition from summer vacations and lazy weekends to getting back into the routine of working each day and every week! Setting yourself up for a healthy balance between work and life is imperative to create a positive level of self-care, leading to resiliency, optimism and a healthy level of personal happiness! Compliments of The Coaching Tools Company, here is a fun infographic to keep you on track with maintaining a healthy life and work balance!

Here’s your challenge for this month leading into September!

Think about which tips resonate most with you and set at least three goals for yourself to be pro-active in setting yourself up for success in striving for and maintaining a healthy work-life balance! And here’s a tip to set you up for success!

Gabrielle Oettengen, a psychologist at New York University, combined research into a methodology called:

WOOP – identifying what is within you that will hold you back from achieving a goal:

Wish – What will it look like? Visualize what it will look like to achieve your goal

Outcome – Imagine how it will feel when you’re there

Obstacle – What is it within you that has been or might hold you back from achieving your goal?

Plan – “If" you experience that obstacle, “then” what’s your plan for overcoming it?

People who practiced this for three weeks found they were able to reduce their mental and physical duress by turning their energy into effective action!

The “Dog Days of Summer” may be over… but with a bit of foresight and pre-planning you can set yourself up for reflecting on the gratitude’s of what your summer activities brought forth and look forward to the months ahead with ease and grace in the inevitable transition of the seasons!

 

If you would like to learn strategies to maintain a healthy work-life balance, I’d welcome the opportunity to work with you! Access my calendar HERE and book a complimentary 30-minute conversation!