Friday, April 27, 2007
How Do You See Yourself?
At breakfast this morning, we were talking about our upcoming black tie ball. Andrew has purchased his first tuxedo and we're really looking forward to getting all dressed up. But every time we mentioned the tux, our youngest girls giggled. After a while, they had us all laughing. I asked them why they thought it was so funny and they told us that they just can't see their dad all dressed up. They are used to seeing him in jeans and a ball cap.
It's a good thing for me that Andrew can see himself in something other than jeans. Otherwise, we would probably never have embarked on this exciting adventure learning to ballroom dance. You see, there is very little chance of accomplishing something that you cannot even imagine.
When I first started in rabbits, I couldn't see myself as a nationally competitive breeder. Certainly I wanted to produce rabbits of that caliber, but I felt there was some intrinsic reason why that could never be me. Those people seemed too remote and lofty as to be unreachable. I thought I'd gotten too late a start in life, that my lack of previous experience would hold me back, or that I didn't have some magical touch or vision that would allow me to fully succeed.
But over time, I came to realize that there wasn't as much gap between me and the top breeders in the nation as I had originally thought . No, I wasn't going to bridge the gulf in one breeding, but neither would it take decades. That's when I dared to set my goals high and go after them.
To this day, I am still amazed and surprised to have had as much success as I've enjoyed. But I have fewer mental limitations on what I might be able to accomplish. I still need to work on believing that my rabbits can succeed - doubts still creep in. Underestimating my bunnies is a disservice to them. They deserve to shine when they can.
At a recent show, I did let the tough competition psyche me out. It was a day of show entry and I had brought along MLK, one of my favorite bucks. He's a small fellow and it takes the right kind of judge to appreciate a balanced buck. So I chickened out and didn't enter him. After the show, I asked judge Todd Naragon to take a look at him. He checked him over and said, "You didn't show this one, did you?" When I said that I hadn't, his reply was one word in a playful tone: "Idiot!" It was the nicest thing anyone had said to me all day!
But I had done MLK a disservice by thinking that he didn't have a chance against such elite competition.
In ballroom dance, one of the basic principles is that you tend to walk where you look. When you turn your head, you naturally walk that way. "Feet follow nose." It's much the same way with rabbits. Set your sights however high you want to go. Imagine success. Don't mentally limit yourself. If you give yourself enough time and put in the work, there's no intrinsic reason why you can't achieve the success you desire.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 10:07 AM
It's a good thing for me that Andrew can see himself in something other than jeans. Otherwise, we would probably never have embarked on this exciting adventure learning to ballroom dance. You see, there is very little chance of accomplishing something that you cannot even imagine.
When I first started in rabbits, I couldn't see myself as a nationally competitive breeder. Certainly I wanted to produce rabbits of that caliber, but I felt there was some intrinsic reason why that could never be me. Those people seemed too remote and lofty as to be unreachable. I thought I'd gotten too late a start in life, that my lack of previous experience would hold me back, or that I didn't have some magical touch or vision that would allow me to fully succeed.
But over time, I came to realize that there wasn't as much gap between me and the top breeders in the nation as I had originally thought . No, I wasn't going to bridge the gulf in one breeding, but neither would it take decades. That's when I dared to set my goals high and go after them.
To this day, I am still amazed and surprised to have had as much success as I've enjoyed. But I have fewer mental limitations on what I might be able to accomplish. I still need to work on believing that my rabbits can succeed - doubts still creep in. Underestimating my bunnies is a disservice to them. They deserve to shine when they can.
At a recent show, I did let the tough competition psyche me out. It was a day of show entry and I had brought along MLK, one of my favorite bucks. He's a small fellow and it takes the right kind of judge to appreciate a balanced buck. So I chickened out and didn't enter him. After the show, I asked judge Todd Naragon to take a look at him. He checked him over and said, "You didn't show this one, did you?" When I said that I hadn't, his reply was one word in a playful tone: "Idiot!" It was the nicest thing anyone had said to me all day!
But I had done MLK a disservice by thinking that he didn't have a chance against such elite competition.
In ballroom dance, one of the basic principles is that you tend to walk where you look. When you turn your head, you naturally walk that way. "Feet follow nose." It's much the same way with rabbits. Set your sights however high you want to go. Imagine success. Don't mentally limit yourself. If you give yourself enough time and put in the work, there's no intrinsic reason why you can't achieve the success you desire.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 10:07 AM
