Phoenix and I were O/4 at Saturday and Sunday’s agility trial according to the official results but I still met 100 percent of my goal for the weekend. (And no, it was NOT to NQ every run!)
I decided to spend the weekend focusing only on the positive aspects of our runs instead of agonizing about every little (or big) handling error I made. Heaven knows I’ve spent enough time doing that and it only makes me feel miserable and inadequate and like I’ve let my dog down. (Seriously, look at Phoenix at the end of our runs in the videos below. Does he look disappointed about anything? I think not.)
I’m a big fan of Jane Savoie’s books, “That Winning Feeling” and “It’s Not Just About the Ribbons.” She talks about how your dominant thoughts program your mind. So if you’re thinking about everything you did wrong on a previous run or are doubting your inability to time front crosses or cue direction changes, well, guess what’s going to happen on your next run?
It took a lot of effort to keep my mind on what went RIGHT and let go of what went WRONG. Old habits die hard. I let myself think about the “wrong” stuff just long enough to figure out why it happened and how I could have handled the sequence better. Then I let it go. It’s done. It’s history. No amount of obsessing is going to change it so why not spend the mental energy replaying the brilliant stuff we did instead? That was a lot more fun.
Have you ever congratulated someone on a nice agility or obedience performance and they immediately start telling you everything that went wrong? Over the years, that has bothered me more and more, even though I've been guilty of it, too. Why are we so focused on negatives? Where did we learn this? Is it just human nature? Are we afraid it will sound like bragging if we say, "Thanks! It was awesome! He did such a good job!"
I admit, it was a bit of a challenge, especially as the weekend progressed. I’m an obedience trainer. I tend to obsess about what went wrong because that is what needs fixing. It’s easy to skip over what went right because, well, it doesn’t need fixing. It helped to have friends who are essentially positive people and share the same outlook that emphasizes success, not failure.
Driving home Sunday afternoon, it was refreshing to give myself permission to think, wow, Phoenix was incredible this weekend. He had speed, drive and focus. Our teamwork felt good. We are running better each time we go in the ring. He is a beautiful, athletic dog and he LOVES to play this game. I feel incredibly fortunate to be healthy enough to run him, to be able to afford the entry fees and to have great friends to spend the weekend with.
Here are our Standard runs from Saturday and Sunday. Thank doG they got taped BEFORE we started an on-going conversation about running agility in body gloves and Brazilian bikini waxing. I can’t imagine some of the background audio that is on friends’ runs!
I just love the shots you can get from up above! It really shows you what's happening!! As well as the 18 obstacles you did RIGHT!!! VBG Some of those videos will need auto editing PRIOR to posting!! LOL (Don't re-live your mistakes!! Re-live the GOOD THINGS!!)
ReplyDeleteHere here on the thinking. My twist has become if I do (and it is always me) something that makes us mess up, I don't obsess about it but rather, analyze it and decide on a plan for fixing it next time if I can and focus on that. Amazing how many people getting ready to run (listen sometime) are talking all negative - to others, to their dogs, to themselves. They all act surprised when I say - visualize a perfect run! Better yet if they are picking on certain items, just say, "Hey, visualize them doing it right!" Do *I* always do it - no but I hope someone says that to me if I'm focusing on the bad. Bottom line, we are a team and we are here having FUN!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff Melinda and you and Phoenix did look great. Think positive! Always!!! Good job.
ReplyDeleteAfter 2 years off from agility, I took my 2 boys to a CPE trial. My goal? That we walked into the ring together, we walked out of the ring together, and we had fun in between. Yes, I met those goals, the 2 mistakes made were mine, but my boys didn't blame me or talk smack about me. Our runs were smooth and fast and fun, and both boys had fabulous running contacts. How could I possibly be negative after all that? Nope, I'm still grinning every time I think about it. I wish more people could feel this feeling. I bet their dogs would agree to that.
ReplyDeleteAwesome runs!! He's definitely having a blast.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I haven't run in to people who tell me all that was wrong after I congratulate them, but I HAVE had people come up to me and tell me I shouldn't be so happy because Layla did this-and-this wrong. What nerve, right? In obedience, we were working on recalls, and she came sooo fast with the biggest tongue-hanging-out smile but sat a little crooked. Not crooked enough to NQ, but enough for a minor deduction. But, I was so happy with how quickly and happily she came to me, that she got a lot of treats and a lot of honestly excited praise from me. Then this woman comes over to me and says, "You know, she sat crooked." Well, la-di-da, lady! We can't all have Golden Retrievers. And honestly, if she came as slowly and as miserable as that woman's Golden, I'd probably drop out of obedience to save her the misery.
Sorry for the ramble/rant - just wanted to share that sometimes the other people are negative too!
As for What Goes Wrong, I'm the queen of obsessing over it, unfortunately. I get all tied up in knots thinking that my mistakes will cause Layla to have problems that will take months/years/decades/eons to fix. On the way home from class one night I was so preoccupied, I started inching my way across an intersection - without realizing we had a Delayed Green and that I was going right into oncoming traffic. THAT was a wakeup call that I need to let things go.
Congrats to a happy team and for not quitting on your dog when the Q no longer became the only end product. I helped scribe in exc this past weekend and saw several teams that when a mistake was made and the handler completely deflated and quit on their dogs, the change in the dog was sad and clear. All the joy and fun was tainted and the dog finished the course, but clearly not with the same fun with which it started. I felt so bad for the dogs, up to the point they "disappointed" mom/dad they were enjoying a wonderful partnership and then it was yanked away.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely runs! He is so responsive to your movement , thats wonderful. Diana
ReplyDeleteGreat post and nice runs. I was genuinely surprised when I first started watching agility. I would say - wow that looked so great! The handler would glare at me and say - it was an NQ. Maybe - but it really looked smooth and fun and the dog looked great. Anyway - those of us with more NQs than Qs can still have a great time. I so miss running agility with Jazz and can't wait until we can enter again - Q or not.
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