Keeping it in perspective...

I have had a lot of time on my hands lately! Not something you will hear me say very often :-) I am, quite honestly, not sure how to handle it?? I better figure it out quick though as all of this "extra" free time to come to an end soon! A variety of things contributed to my 3 plus weeks of lady of leisure status, but, it has certainly given me a lot of time to "think" about things :-) I freely admit is, I am a hyper active individual and when I find myself without a packed schedule I seem to just start spinning in circles! I have tried to make a conscious effort every day to just stop and appreciate that I have this time to spend doing whatever I feel is most necessary at that moment! I did have really good intentions as far as what computer type work I would get done during this travel hiatus... well, I guess what I needed more than anything else after a jam packed 2012 was some brain down time as well as physical down time. I have gotten my Skills and Drills Online subscription service up to date and am very excited about the site! It is really nice to have a way to reach people who do not have access to regular instruction either because of where they live or time constraints! With the subscription service, you have access to training drills, and, feedback from myself and other subscribers, but, no mandatory deadlines for homework submissions! I am having a great time challenging students to push themselves and think outside the box a bit! I have also had opportunity to train my dogs on a more consistent basis. I am still careful to not overdo.. I am definitely of the belief that quality outdoes quantity every time! The ability to spend at least a few minutes everyday has been a real treat though, both for me AND my dogs!! It has been pretty awesome that this hiatus is occurring when I am in Phoenix as the weather has been pretty darn close to perfect! And yes, I am LOVING my "new" agility playground :-) SO, with all of that said, what was the real reason for this blog post today? PERSPECTIVE, how do we keep everything in perspective as we travel down the path of life? That is a HUGE question and I am quite certain that "I" cannot answer it for everyone, but, I can continue to try to answer it for myself :-) Everyone says, don't sweat the small stuff, well, what is the small stuff? I think that is an individual answer as well. I, personally, am not exactly sure what the small stuff is, but, I have thought a lot these past few weeks about what really matters to me as an individual. My family matters, it is extremely important to me that my family be safe, healthy, happy, and, living their individual lives the way that makes THEM happy. I cannot get bent out of shape if we do not speak to each other on a daily basis, I don't take it personally that my children have lives outside of mine, that sometimes mean sacrifices, or, time apart when we would really like to be together. I do not expect my children to provide my happiness, only I can do that! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that. My friends matter, I want the very best for my friends and appreciate all that they do for me. I have to be willing to give as well as receive, but, without keeping score. To be a friend means accepting the person for who they are, good and bad. Nobody is perfect, you are friends because you appreciate the imperfections of those friends as much as the things that you love about the person. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My husband matters, I realize he falls under the family category, but, figured I better mention him specifically! ;-) All the stuff I said about family and friends most certainly applies to my husband! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My dogs matter, again, my dogs are my family, but, since they are not human we have to appreciate them on a different level for different reasons :-) My dogs make me smile and laugh everyday! My dogs offer me comfort and offer me a way to be at peace everyday! at least one of my dogs frustrate me in some form or fashion almost everyday! My dogs are dogs and not people and for that I am thankful most of the time, they do not judge, they love you unconditionally, and, they feed your ego, as well as often keeping it in check! :-) My dogs have a limited time on they Earth, as we all do, and, I want to appreciate that time, not wish it away, take it for granted, or, spend any more time than humanly necessary stressing about things beyond my control. I know that my dogs do not lay awake at night coming up with new ways to NQ on an agility course and every run that we have together is special whether we Q or not. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My career matters, I LOVE teaching, I LOVE helping people to achieve goals they never thought possible, I LOVE seeing the satisfaction people feel when they do something they had no idea they could do. It is incredibly gratifying to me to be able to make my living meeting people and dogs all over the world and helping to shape their individual idea agility and where they want it to take them. I LOVE the fact that agility serves a different purpose in each persons life and that there is no single definition of success in this sport. I LOVE the idea sharing that keeps this sport moving forward. I love that we can compete in agility, or, just play in agility, or even just play in agility in a way that is competitive within ourselves even if not competitive at the National level. Competition is something that people really have a hard time keeping in perspective. The word competition brings up a myriad of feelings and different thoughts, ideas, and, definitions depending on who you ask. I have never understood why the work competition has been primarily a negative... Competition is healthy, it keeps us motivated, it keeps us moving forward, and, it keeps us from stagnating. I do believe that people like to compare competitiveness to sportsmanship and these are 2 distinctly different things! Linda Mecklenburg posed the question on Facebook the other day about what people think being competitive means, the answers were very interesting! I believe you can be a good sport and be competitive, or, vice versa... your choice! Being competitive can also bring out the worst in people, we have all seen what happens when a person becomes competitive to the point that they are "always" in the ribbons... others begin to judge unfairly, criticize, even make things up to make themselves feel better. How sad is that? It has been said that nobody likes a winner, how incredibly sad! A gracious winner, is very likable! I study the competitive folks in agility to learn, what a fantastic opportunity! With the internet, number of competitions, access to trainers from all over the World we are so very lucky!! Every one has the opportunity to be competitive, instead of disparaging those that are, get out there learn from those that can teach you, put the work in and pay them the biggest compliment that can ever be paid, WIN! Or better yet, realize that competitive to you means something completely different, just going to the line is a major hurdle for some, combat a fear and win that battle! Remember, your biggest competition is always going to be yourself! It is important to be aware of what others are doing enough to have an idea of what your own goals are, but, reaching those goals is for you, and, about you! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! I am going to spend the day with my puppies, doing a little agility, going for a nice walk, and, meeting up with a wonderful human friend to go watch her dog herd! I even get to try out my little Journey and see if she has the "instinct". What a great day, filled with great opportunities! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! :-)