Greatness Takes Time

 In agility, time has become increasingly more important to competitors. We have learned to fine-tune our handling, shaving off tenths and hundredths when it matters most. Our dogs have access to better nutrition, physical therapists, chiropractors, and fitness trainers. They are running longer because of the hours we put into taking care of them on all levels. We are also pushing them to reach greatness sooner. The youngest to reach this title, this goal, this team… I understand. I did the same for myself as a kid. I chased the youngest national champion, the youngest world team member, and became the youngest European Open team member. What I can tell you from that experience is that it is mentally taxing with no true reward.  Chasing the clock is fun on course, but setting time limits on your goals is not.  

I’ve found maturity is a key factor in competing at a higher level. I believe that many dogs aren’t “grown up” until around five years old. You can push a dog long before it is ready, but realistically you cannot rush development. The abilities of muscle memory, verbal skills, and reading body cues are not created overnight. It takes hours of commitment to be great, for you and your dog. And the truth is those hours aren’t filled with motivational quotes, excuses and hoping for gold, they’re filled with conscious practice. We do not simply run agility in this journey. We calculate complex movements, test reaction time, and fine-tune footwork to create a language between dog and handler. We are learning something far more complex than a sport filled with dog tricks.  

I’m not here to tell you not to reach for the stars, but to take your time. There is much more satisfaction in slow, consistent progress than there is in stumbling blindly upon a goal. If the promise of satisfaction isn’t enough for you, consider that the one stumbling to the top probably won't remember the path back up.

There’s a key component to the ten thousand hours rule, “deliberate practice”. You cannot rely on skills you have not fully developed.  Greatness takes time, but that time must be well spent. We have the resources and knowledge in our community to be deliberate, we need to realize that not all practice is valuable. I never run an obstacle, sequence or course without a specific reason. I enter trials when I believe they will benefit the goal I am working on, and I go to the line with a list of micro-goals to accomplish. None of these goals, big or small, have expiration dates. None of these goals are based upon results.When goals are set effectively the results become the byproduct of the process. Focus on the process, every minute holds value if you know where to look and how to use your time. 

Goal setting is time management.