Continuing our series about good movement, what’s holding us back, and how to draw it. Heads up – I get a little long winded with this one, but I promise it’s quality. 😉 Need to catch up on the series? Here you go:
- Week 1: Good movement (not the bathroom kind)
- Week 2: Cattle, stock dogs, and communication
- Week 3: My selfish reasons for building the Good Movement Training
Okay, now that we’ve established good movement is what we’re after, what’s our hold up?
The principle of good movement seems simple enough. Go in there with a positive attitude, listen, and communicate accordingly.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?
When life gives you lemons…
Well, sort of. It is simple. But it’s not easy.
Believe you me, there have been multiple occasions when my husband and I, or one of the two of us, have headed out intent on making a herd move only to turn around and come home because our minds weren’t right.
No joke, we’ve literally saddled up our horses, loaded them on the trailer, driven out to the pasture, and turned around and come back home.
We could have made all those moves we never attempted, but the result wouldn’t have been good movement.
Because good movement doesn’t happen when we have a grouch on and are unwilling to understand. It doesn’t happen with a bad attitude or a heavy hand. And it most certainly does not happen if we try to force it.
This is true of cattle. The same is true of people.
People, cattle, bathroom habits — and human nature
Humans, bovines, or bowels – we can’t force it and have it be good movement.
If we try to force folks into our way of thinking, or come at them with a grouch on, we’re not likely to get a great response. They’re more likely to shut down or give us the finger. All movement in the conversation will stop, or worse, they’ll get on the fight.
Moral of the story – a bad attitude and force will not yield good movement.
If we know this is true, and we do, then why don’t we just get a better attitude and good movement on?
Well, because of this little thing called human nature.
Bud Williams is a world-renowned stockman. While he was alive, he and his wife (renowned stockwoman) Eunice traveled around herding and handling animals no one else could.
In addition to cattle, Bud successfully worked with reindeer, elk, buffalo, camels, fallow deer, horses, hogs, sheep, goats, and poultry.
He once wrote, “While my method of stockmanship is quite simple, it is very difficult for people to learn because it often goes against human behavior.”
He’s right. As humans we have this little thing called an ego.
Good movement vs. ego
Our ego’s job is to keep us safe, so it’s constantly on the lookout for danger. The problem with this is, our ego exaggerates reality and projects its own, causing more problems. And because of these embellished “problems,” we are often more inclined to place blame and point fingers than we are to accept responsibility and reflect.
It can feel easier and safer to live oblivious and defer fault than to be aware and accept it.
These are ways our human egos work to “keep us safe.”
But they’re also ways our egos hold us back and keeps us from drawing good movement.
Stay tuned next week to learn more!
Learn more
If you’re interested in learning more about Good Movement and its impacts on your business, here are some things you can do:
- Learn more about my Good Movement Training options
- Sign up for my email list
- Contact me directly to start a conversation
Hello! I’m Terryn – the wife, mother, food safety enthusiast, Stormy Kromer fanatic who has slightly (okay, a lot) random tendencies, dabbles in photography, and shares (maybe a little too much) here at FFB.