Monster and I generally have good training sessions. The mistakes are usually mine but I also get the chance to teach him new skills. Tonight we went to the training field to work on our A Frame skills a little more and just get a brief workout. I enjoyed our 20 mins of training so much! We ran together and with intensity! If a contact was missed or a jump wasn't committed to, we moved on quickly and kept the connection going :)
***It's sessions like that that you have to watch yourself with though. You get so high on all the good stuff that you forget to give your dog a break or work him until he's tired. DON'T DO IT! End on a good note and you might have an epiphany like I did!
Ok, so back to my Mental Game epiphany: I was driving back home and thinking about how great it was to run so connected. I started wondering why we don't run that way at trials. Well here's the reason: 1) I am almost always nervous regardless of how well I know my fellow competitors 2) I have self doubt 3) I doubt my dog 4) I don't communicate with my dog in a trial like I do at home!
Man, thinking about all those things had me wondering how we made it as far as we have at trials! How can I doubt my dog when I've seen how awesome he can be?! And how can I doubt myself when I have seen what I've taught my dog to do and we practice so well together? How could I still get nervous in front of the same group of people that I've seen for a couple of years now?
Clearly, it's all in my head. There is a disconnect for me when it comes to training vs. trialing. That, in training, I know I can do it over again but, in a trial, I can't. A sort of pressure is created. Now, I'm not sure how to best rid these thoughts but I have found a tool in my toolbox that's been there all along. My thoughts can take me to other places. They can take me to those moments where everything clicked and we connected in practice. I can imagine myself at practice and find the same kind of excitement I have there in a trial. I CAN DO THIS!
So, whether I make a fool of myself talking to my dog the entire time we're on a course, or something else goes wrong, I know that we had fun, we ran intensely, and that's all I need to conquer my mental game. Putting these words and thoughts into action is the next step and, from what I understand, it's still gonna take time to meld the two mindsets together. BUT, I have taken the first step by realizing what's been holding me back.
I am looking forward to testing my new mindset this weekend!
