“Accept your current skill level
We accept our current skill level and position in life even while we strive for improvements.” Andrew Ledford © 2000 -2009
Whenever we start a new project or even when we have participated in an activity or profession for some time we must accept that we don’t know everything. We cannot start as experts.
Getting past the beginning stage of learning can be very difficult. I see this when teaching people how to train their dogs. The first lesson can be quite uncomfortable because the person is learning to act and move in new ways. Their behavior is undergoing rapid change. Change often results in stress. It’s because of this that I want total buy in and commitment before I start working with a new household and their dog. If at least one person in the household is committed the rest of the family will have time to adapt to the new ways of interacting with the dog as the dog’s behavior gets more manageable.
The same discomfort associated with learning new skills is seen in many other areas of our lives. As a result of this year’s Dog Days of Summer I am looking into learning some new skills and I am experiencing the emotions elicited from not knowing. Learning a totally new skill requires overcoming inertia and battling the adversity of starting to learn a new subject. What makes it more difficult is that I am probably going to learn the subject on my own, which means I am my teacher. When I am highly motivated this has always worked for me in the past, but this is a subject that I may be able to put off indefinably. I’m questioning whether I am committed enough to actually make the changes. I’m also considering the possibility of managing my environment in a way where others can help me through the learning process. Much like hiring a dog trainer to coach new dog skills into existence. As usual my own behavior is an interesting thing to observe and learn from.
Wishing you the very best in dog training and in life,
Andrew Ledford