Must be present to win.

I'm sure you know the saying, "Must be present to win." To most of us, it means that if we want to win that raffle item, we'd better stick around until the end of the day. But lately, I've had another perspective on this common phrase - that we as handlers must be in the present moment in order to Q.

It's easy to agree that we must be fully present to handle our dogs to the best of our abilities, but much harder to do consistently. It seems we are either worrying about the future (hello, anxiety) or lamenting about the past and whether that past will again become the future.

Staying in the present moment is crucial to finding that coveted flow state as well as holding your concentration for the length of your performance. Hyper-focus is another term that speaks to that near tunnel vision we have when only the world in front of us matters.

So why is it so hard to stay in the present moment? For starters, we are pretty easily distracted. From drama at the trial to our own thoughts of our demise, we don't have great control over the ramblings in our brains. And we give into these distractions all week long so our brains become conditioned to bouncing from topic to topic, thought to thought.

Another big reason is we don't practice staying present. Many of us wear our multi-tasking abilities like a badge of honor instead of committing just a few minutes each day to focus only on our breath or the sounds of the birds. Staying present is a skill that we must decide to invest in knowing it will increase our mental stamina and enable us to respond better in the ring.

Of course, meditation is the ultimate staying-present exercise. And while I know many of you balk at the idea, I also know that those of you who have tried it see the benefits. Meditation doesn't have to be an hour sitting quietly in Lotus pose while ignoring the pain in your hip - no! There are so many forms that if you don't like meditating, you just haven't found your style. And please don't say you don't have time when three minutes per day can be wildly impactful.

Visualization is also a great way to train your brain to focus in the present (which seems a little ironic since you're thinking about yourself in another time but ...). You can visualize the future by putting yourself in a desired scene - such as your dream home or vacation - or you can open up your photos app and go back in time and fully savor a past happy memory with all the details. While both may seem like fancy ways to frame daydreaming, visualizing with intention and thinking only of your visualization helps teach the brain to stay on task. You're building stamina.

In the end, we must be present to win - or Q, or execute our process goals. It makes a great reminder and mantra! Just be sure you have the mental skills to support this goal and start practicing!