Ignore the Noise
Ignore the Noise
Disclosure: This site may contain links to affiliate sites that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products and services that I personally use!
This week I’m continuing with Part 2 of 10 on discussing the Life Lessons of Ben Bergeron (elite crossfit coach) and how those apply to Agility. You can listen here to the podcast episode, and if you haven’t already done so, check out Part 1 “I’m not Just Here for Today”.
Today’s lesson is:
“Ignore the Noise”
It’s a bit of a trope at this point to say that we are constantly bombarded by stimuli; from social media, to tv ads, to rotating billboards, to friends, family, and coworkers who can reach us at anytime, anywhere at just the click of a button, most of us are almost constantly living in a state of over-arousal. In the Agility world, I think almost everyone has a story of that one time that someone said something super hurtful (or at best completely unhelpful) as they exited the ring. You know what I’m talking about, when you leave celebrating an amazing run, and you haven’t even had a chance to reward your dog yet, and someone feels the need to tell you “you know they missed their contact right?”. How did that make you feel in the moment? I know for me, even when I’m at my best mental game, there’s a small moment of let down as a result, and then I have to work really hard to undo that moment. At my worst, that one comment, that one piece of noise could derail my whole day. It could shake my confidence in myself and my team, bringing up that ever present subtext “You’re not good enough” that I’ve tried so hard to dispel. It’s a super common phenomenon, and one that we all can relate to, so much so that there are myriad posts on facebook about ring etiquette and social rules about when to approach a handler and what you can and can’t say…and yet these comments still happen.
Or let’s take a more innocuous example, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been watching runs from the sidelines, chatting with my friends and discussing the pro’s and con’s of certain handling plans. “See that’s the problem with that rear cross, it opens you up to that offcourse….but if you do the front cross it has to be super timely”. This is an everyday occurrence, and I’m not being mean, or hurting anyone, so what’s the big deal? For me, these conversations pull me out of flow and switch my brain into analysis or training mode. I will carry these words with me into my run, and as I’m handling my course, instead of staying in the moment with my dog I’m thinking “see that front cross was late, you said it had to be timely and now it wasn’t”. We don’t have time for these split second thoughts, and I can almost guarantee that I’ll be late for my next handling element, causing a refusal or off course. And it’s all because I let the pre-run noise filter into my subconscious and pull me out of my flow state.
But what’s a girl to do when simply walking into a trial site is likely to lead to overhearing statements or comments that might pull you out of flow? After all, we can’t control other people, and we certainly can’t turn the Agility ring into a library (shhhh! I’m concentrating over here!). But there’s a lot that is within our control, and there are a lot of strategies we can employ to help filter out this noise, so that much less gets through to you, and hopefully then you have the bandwidth to work through it. Here are a few of my favorite tips for controlling the noise:
Limit Social Media - the latest dogbook drama won’t help you focus on your skills and your runs, and opening facebook to see someone else’s highlight reel for sure won’t build up your confidence and trust in your partner.
Wear Headphones - if I’m blasting good vibe tunes I can’t hear the negative comments of those around me. I’m also much less likely to get pulled into course analysis discussions.
Be Mindful of Who, What, and Why - who are you talking to? What are you talking about? Why are you talking about it? Can it wait until later? Are you seeking people out to talk to who bring you down, or are likely to say something negative to you? I’m happy to say hi to people as I pass them (with my headphones on!), but I don’t seek people out unless there is a clear and urgent purpose. If it doesn’t need to be discussed right this moment, I’ll track them down when I have enough time to regroup after our conversation.
Take Time Out - trial environments are overstimulating, just like my dogs, I need time in my crate to decompress - or in my case, I’ll head back to my car, grab a snack, drink some water, and play my coloring app to calm my nervous system. Other fun things to do are to take a nice long cool out walk with my dogs in a nearby field, or basically anything that gets me out of the loud, echoing buildings where I’m constantly bombarded by barking, whistles, speakers, and sensory input.
As an extrovert who enjoys the social aspect of trials, implementing these strategies can initially feel like some weird sort of punishment. Like I need to go “hide in my car” like that kid in high school eating lunch alone in the bathroom stall. But as I’ve become more practiced at checking in with myself, I’ve realized that I was using the sensory stimuli of the trial environment to cover up my own emotions, constantly looking for more and more to get that quick dopamine hit instead of dealing with the anxiety, fear, stress, disappointment, and joy that are all part and parcel of a standard agility day. Now, when I have a gap between runs, I’ll take a moment and ask myself “what do I need” and it will suddenly hit me that I’m hungry, thirsty, and need to go to the bathroom. In this way, I’m slowly shifting my mental state from constantly doing (and spinning my wheels) to being mindful, intentional, and more present, which ultimately makes it easier to achieve a flow state and peak performance in Agility.
Need Help?
Shoot me an email to see if Online High Performance Coaching might be a good fit for you.