Thoughts on Motivation and Commitment

Earlier this evening, I wrote out a big long post in which I waxed on and on about my insecurities, commitment-phobia, blah blah blah.

Here's the deal: the time has come for me to make a decision about my future goals for herding. I need to either commit to wanting to trial, or commit to being content with just doing it for fun. Either way, I owe it to Moss, myself, and to my friends helping me out, to figure out exactly what my goals are.


I feel like Moss and I are on the edge of really starting to figure things out, at least in this stage of our herding journey. With more commitment on my part, and a little bit of bravery, we could potentially make some huge leaps this year. Or, we could keep doing what we're doing and progress at the same comfortable, slow, noncommittal pace.

As of right this moment, I am not 100% sure what I want to do. But in the spirit of progress, I will write down a goal for herding following the "SMARTER" guidelines. SMARTER is an acronym, meant to help with goal-setting, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluate, Revaluate. I learned about this method from the second part in the "Agility Mind Gym" series, which appeared in this month's issue of Clean Run. I am finding this series of articles very helpful and illuminating.

Anyways...

My goal is: To learn to blow a reliable "lie down" whistle (I have trouble getting the high tones consistently).

Specific: I will be able to blow a consistent, clear "lie down" whistle, under varying conditions and levels of stress, by March 1st.

Measurable: I will perform this skill accurately at least 80% of the time.

Attainable: I feel like this "mini goal" is attainable to me, both in level of difficulty and time-frame.

Relevant: This skill is important both for every-day stockwork and trialing.

Time-bound: I will accomplish this goal by March 1st.

Evaluate/Revaluate: I will report on my progress periodically.

Here is a video of Moss and I working sheep a month or so ago. For some reason, I never uploaded it at the time. I think we look pretty good!



Cheers!