Remember to Consider What Works

The thought process that I used in formulating my plan in regards to this new issue with bridling included setting some priorities to keep in mind. These were:

• Keep things as simple as possible.
• Keep things calm and inspire cooperation creatively.
• Avoid getting into a power struggle. If I start to get frustrated, change tactics or change subjects. This means I need to have plan b, and plan c and maybe even a plan d figured out so I can adjust in the moment.
• Be creative by combining things we can do in new ways and also taking into consideration the unique factors for us. 
• Keep in mind what is true for Gunny and his personality, what works for Gunny, and what works for me and use those things to come up with a plan.

Reflecting on these statements, especially the last part led me to realize that many times I will use a technique that ends up giving me the result that I wanted but I didn't manage to keep the priorities. Even if the technique works for Gunny and I end up with the result I was looking for, if it doesn't work for me, then it wasn't the right technique. Up to now, I have not considered whether or not something worked for me. So now I include that into my thought process. For example, if I don't want to work that hard, I am not going to use a technique that causes him to move his feet a lot.