Two months to become an overnight success

Hey, guys! I hope y’all are doing well!

Soooo… this week Cor and I (finally) finished a training video we’ve been working on for two months!

It was one of those things that he didn’t get for the longest time (seriously, normally a video will take us two or three weeks at MOST), and then once he got it, he got it completely.

Not only did he get what I was asking him to do, he was able to do it with the added distraction of having another dog (that I am sitting for) over. That’s not easy for him. Especially not when this other dog–for the past couple of days) has been more interesting than even food.

And that got me thinking.

I’ve heard the saying “it took me x years to become an overnight success” before, which admittedly, is as cute as it is slightly cheesy. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen it play out in front of my eyes like this.

I’ve heard the illustration of planting a bonsai tree that doesn’t sprout for a couple years and then, when it does, grows a full tree in a matter of a year or two.

I’ve heard the idea of putting in an inordinate amount of work for a little bit of payoff because, one day, you’ll put in a little work for an inordinate amount of payoff. I know situations that works for–writing books, for example. Or, in some cases, health/going to the doctor. One could argue going to school falls into the same camp. Heavens, training a service dog at all falls into that camp.

But I’m not sure if I’ve never seen it, or if I’ve never wanted to let myself see it. Because, let’s be real. Learning to like work–while it will help you in the long run–isn’t just something that you can flip a switch and choose to do. You can choose to do it, but choosing to like work is another thing where it takes weeks to years to become an overnight success. It’s not a one-and-done thing.

What am I trying to say, here? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. But I put the video up three days ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. When Cor did what I asked him to that first time, it wasn’t a huge screaming moment. It was more of a moment where I couldn’t help but smile and my heart exhaled, as it were. When the puzzle piece falls right into perfect place and you’re able to move onto the next piece with a feeling of ‘okay. maybe I’m not crazy–maybe the puzzle company actually does know what it’s doing’. It wasn’t the “winning touchdown in the last second of the game, and the crowd goes crazy” moment that you think it would be if it took you so much longer than you’d expected to get to where you wanted to be. It was simply a moment where I was able to rejoice in my heart and reaffirm to Cor that he was a smart, good boy.

And, maybe, victories don’t have to be any more than that.

I think we’re all realizing that it’s okay for holidays to be quieter and smaller, this year.

Who’s to say the most important victories aren’t the ones celebrated with merely a smile and another step forward?

Because, when I look back at these last six lessons I’ve gone through with him (half-way through the program!!), the entire journey has been made up of those.

Everything I’m saying is coming out really cheesy, and I don’t mean it that way.

I guess, what I’m trying to say is, not every big success is celebrated big. And they don’t have to come fast.

There’s freedom in accepting that it’ll come, anyway. In the right time.

Because you were not born to fail.

Laur and Cor