Course Schedule

Getting started:  You signed up for class so that you can complete one or more behaviors. You likely have a list, if not on paper then floating somewhere in your head, of the many behaviors you have started and for whatever reason have not yet completed.

Your list may be short with only one or two behaviors or it may be longer! Much, much longer! The first step is to identify what those are, where you are in the process and what’s still left!

Time to get your list down on paper.  For me, writing it down is the first step in organizing my thoughts and creating a plan. Writing it down is the first step in committing to completion. Sharing that list with someone strengthens that commitment.

Do you feel tired already?  Just thinking about how much work there is to do?  You are not alone! Training can sometimes feel over-whelming!  So much to train, so little time! No wonder we have so many partially trained behaviors!  There are ways though that we can use the time we have more efficiently by looking at our priorities.

When including a behavior on your “need, must, want” to complete list I’d like you to ask yourself a few questions:

What is your motivation?  Are there some behaviors that are more important to you than others? If your list is on the lengthier side, we want to try to narrow that down.

Are there some that are nearing completion? Feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in completing a behavior can reinforce your desire to start on the next behavior.

Are there some that you feel you just need to get over this one hump? Maybe you have been frustrated that you aren’t farther than you are. Getting over that hump and the feeling of relief can be reinforcing as well, helping to drive you through the process.

Maybe you have one or more behaviors you are excited about training but just don’t know where to start!  That excitement you feel is valuable and is part of what motivates us to train. You want those on your list!

How will you celebrate?  What activity, shiny thing, or special way will you reward yourself for your accomplishment once the behavior is complete? Write it down!  Make it something different for each behavior on your list. This will give you some insight as to the importance of each behavior or skill. Choosing higher value celebratory rewards for yourself often relates to either the difficulty you foresee or the importance you’ve placed on the behavior.

Upon completing your list, assess the answers to the above questions then choose which 2 behaviors from your list that want to start with.  Show me what you have! Then let’s get started!