Yoda and the Art of Dog Training
“I’ll not hide it, I’m goaling for all new students to get really good at this stuff. I love to see people and dogs learn, it’s my major motivator, I am invested.” Jenny Adams
Yoda (from Star Wars for those who may have been locked in a box for the last 40 years), Yoda said: Don’t try, do.
Is he right?
I’ve been thinking about what Yoda said since 1980, which is when he said it.
Well, I think Yoda’s sentiment is right, I think “trying” is pretty often associated with failing. And although I think failing is actually fine, it’s how we move on from fails that’s important. Whatever, I’m going to suggest another word, a better word, the one I’m going to try to strive to kick start my endeavours from now on.
Striving
Which is bigger than trying but smaller than doing and it’s where I want to be when I’m starting any task I know I’m not proficient at yet.
I do have a poster in class that says DO IT, in big friendly letters. I say that its more important when training your do to do it in the first place rather than worrying about doing it wrong. But I know that ain’t quite right. But DO IT, makes a much cleaner poster than STRIVE TO DO IT. Maybe I should make a Strive to Do It poster on the back of the Do It poster in case questions in class lead to the need for more detail. I like that idea.
Somebody who’s striving
I strive to push the rock up the hill, I expect to really give it a good push – or many pushes. My “try” could be no more than a featherlight push. Okay, okay, a little push might not be much of a try: Johnny, you’re not really trying! But isn’t “really trying” actually striving?
Striving:
- We Google, probably a lot
- We train the dog, probably a lot
- We keep some kind of record of how we’re doing
- Ask questions
- Make plans
- Read books
- Take the time it takes
- We keep going
Isn’t “strive” scary though? Yeah, little bit. Still, I like it, I think it’s the right mindset when we’re starting off any task we’re committed to which might be more than featherlight. Although Yoda isn’t the one who said: “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway”, I think he wanted to, I think they cut that scene. Baaaad George Lucas. I’d had put it in there had I been George Lucas but I would’ve said: Feel the Fear and Strive to Do It Anyway.