Page 62 - 2024 01 Spring

Getting that to Help You

Voice Inside Win

Your Head By Sandy Weaver

thought to yourself, “I don’t have a voice inside
my head” that was the voice inside your head
that made that statement.
An online search for “negative self-talk”
reveals 866,000,000 results in 0.35 seconds.
Turns out, that voice inside your head is
replicated inside nearly everyone’s head! It’s
possible there are people who have no negative
self-talk at all, though they’re probably
sociopaths and egomaniacs, so not anyone you
want to spend time with or learn from. That’s
okay–you can spend a few minutes with this
article and learn a lot, plus you can put these
concepts to use immediately to teach that
voice to help you win instead of continuing its
creation of a loser mentality.
Elite athletes have been using visualization
and neuroplasticity techniques on themselves
for decades as a form of legal performance

What does the voice inside your head say to enhancement. You’ve put in the work on your
dog–socializing and training your dog so it
you when you’re standing outside the ring, will feel more confident in the show ring. Now,
looking at your competition? And if you just it’s time to focus on you.

I’m clumsy .................................................................................... I’ve run around the ring dozens of times–I’ll do it again today.
I’m not a good handler .................................................................. I have a beautiful, correct dog and today I’ll show off her assets.
Only professional handlers win ..................................................... I’m channeling my inner professional handler, so we’ll be a great team.
I wish my dog’s [whatever] was better ........................................... Every dog has faults–I’ll emphasize my dog’s excellence.
Everyone will be staring at me ...................................................... This is a dog show–they’re looking at the dogs.
I’m so nervous............................................................................... The butterflies remind me of the excitement of winning.
[Top dog] is here–we can’t win ...................................................... Every day at a show is different and my dog has as good a chance as any.
My dog isn’t groomed very well ..................................................... I did my best grooming today and I get better every time.
What if my dog potties? ................................................................ The judge has seen everything before–maybe even with their own dog.
What if my dog limps? .................................................................. [see above]
What if my dog won’t stand for exam? ........................................... [see above]
What if my dog won’t behave? ....................................................... [see above]
What if that mean exhibitor is here? ............................................. It doesn’t matter who else is in the ring–my focus is on my dog.
What if people make fun of me? .................................................... What other people think of me is none of my business.
I need this win to get to Bronze ..................................................... My dog and I will have fun and whatever happens happens.
I’ll never beat [handler + dog combination] .................................. We’re going to do our best and whatever happens happens.
My outfit sucks–what was I thinking? ........................................... No one will be looking at my clothes, they’ll be looking at my dog.
Everyone here has so much more experience ................................. Everyone here has been where I am now.