Negative thinking

Once again, another good article in one of the horse magazines. This time it is Bob Avila and his article is in Horse and Rider. There is so much good stuff that we can all get and use from horse trainers.

We have all seen the negative thinkers, they are on the side lines before they even go in for their run thinking "I just know" he/she is going to do this or that. "I just know" that they are going to have trouble with this or that. They have already set themselves up for failure before they even start. When a negative thinker is convinced that it is going to happen, it most likely will happen. You don't even have to be a competitor to be haunted by this demon. There are many triggers for negative thinking.

The way to slay the negative thinking demon is with the power of positive thinking.

Now I will borrow some things from Bob's article.

One thing to help with getting rid of negative thinking is with visualization. I have read more than one book on mental management and they all talk about visualizing how you want things to be. It really does work. It works like this, visualize every part of your run, each step, each flank. Picture exactly how the field looks and how your dog will run. Visualize each flank and where your dog needs to be and how it will look with the sheep going thru each panel, penning and shedding.

When you visualize a positive performance, you're using positive power, rather than negative power that pre-programs a negative result.

The mind is a powerful tool and most of us don't utilize it to the fullest.

Blocking out distractions:
Rather than worrying about what others think(something you can't control), start thinking only about yourself and your dog(something you can control). Concentrate on ways you can help him be the best that he can be.

Dump the negative memories:
Mentally delete the bad feelings that follow a bad run, allowing yourself to learn from any mistakes you made. Not only does learning from them turn a negative into a positive, it helps you avoid a "mistake hangover," so you don't carry the bad memory forward. Know this; if you trial, you'll make mistakes. We all do. Get over it.

Trial or work your dog as much as you can.
Nothing helps slay negative demons like the confidence you'll get by facing them on a regular basis. The less you trial, the bigger those demons seem to get. Mileage and experience will, over time, give you the confidence--and coping skills-- to manage the negative emotions that are bound to crop up every time you face a new challenge on the trial field. Then you can have fun, after all, isn't that what sheepdog trials are all about.