Dog

We were moments away from adding more responsibilities to our life. Yes, we had our eyes set on a free puppy from a breeder's pure Boerboel who had a late-night escapade with a German Sheperd. I was enamored by that combination of dogs, dogs that are built to be the way dogs should be, when clans huddled around fires that raged against the night and evil lurked in the shadows.

I even had a name in my mind for this female: Jugger. Short for...you guessed it: juggernaut.

What ultimately led me to flip off the switch is the kind of time and treasure commitment the dog would require.

1. What are the costs to benefits?
2. What is the utility that the animal provides and can I more effectively gain that with another option?
3. Can I receive approximately the same value elsewhere at a cheaper cost?
4. What are the opportunity costs, i.e., what are all that I am choosing away from by choosing this dog?
5. What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of making this decision?

Too often, folks rush into a decade-long fallout of a decision that was high on the smoke of emotions. I totally envisioned myself in this role:

YouTube Link

...but I cannot succumb to pure emotion.

It is a serious undertaking to train a dog while also training my kids. What is the payoff of my investing time into this animal? Again, what am I choosing away from?

And I have got to be a good steward of our treasure. I see folks who have BOTH parents running off to the workplace to put food on the table and a roof over everyone's heads (in theory, but in practice...). Thus, both parents go to enrich the coffers of the elite while handing over their kids to the State. As it is, there is a Creepy Old Man Says He Thinks Of Your Kids As His Own.

No, my family only requires one source of income because we (mostly) plan expenses rather than react to expenses. Generally, folks get in trouble when they just want something without sitting down to consider its merits. A ten-year commitment ought to be prodded over for longer than picking something off the drive-thru menu.

@theGym

This optimization mindset continued with my training program. You will recall that my earlier resistance regimen featured exercises that I could choose from each day that I never had the time to hit all of them with my 5x15 approach in 45 minutes.

Well, I revised the PDF of my Resistance Sheet.

I include three exercises per day to fit the time constraint. I also squeezed in the muscle targets for each exercise. The great thing about it is that everything is out there scheduled so I do not have to even think about that morning. Just get in there and do the work and get so to run out and do cardio.

I revisited my Fitness calendar and updated my observations, removing my VR boot and pool work. Not that I do not do those things, but there was not enough time to do VR pre-dawn and there are moving pieces regarding my afternoons. And pool time is so finicky!