Beginnings, Middles, and Ends - win a free PHOTO SESSION

The Parelli Natural Horsemanship horse training program that I study is all about self improvement. There are many amazing parallels with being a successful horse trainer and being a successful and happy human being in general. By being dedicated students of the program, we learn to not blame the horse (or other people) and take personal responsibility when things aren't going well. We learn that horses (and kids) need equal doses of love, language and leadership. We learn that we need to become more emotionally fit in order to be good leaders (parents, spouses, friends).

In my study of this program, I've also learned that most people prefer either beginnings, middles, or ends.

• A beginnings person thrives on change. They have lots of different hobbies, interests and talents. They get bored quickly and want to move onto something new, fun and more interesting. They are bored by routine and don't feel a real need to finish things.
  

• A middles person doesn't like change or being pushed out of their comfort zone. They like repetition and are good at doing a few things very well. They are comforted by routine and aren't bored by repeating things they are good at doing.

• An ends person likes the feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing something - with getting a degree or completing a project. They are great at pushing through the boring middle to get to the end and see the job done.

This concept Is very interesting to me. I think it's important to learn about ourselves, be self aware, and find ways in which we can make our weak places become stronger.

My mom is good in all three areas. As a college professor, she's had to be. As a mom and wife and sole caregiver of an ill spouse, she's had to be. She's also someone who's quite balanced between right and left brain. It makes me realize that we aren't stuck with the weaknesses and personality imbalances that we are born with. We can learn and grow and develop ourselves.

The point of all this rambling is that I have discovered that I'm a beginnings person - BIG TIME.

I have way too many interests. I have dozens of half finished projects around my house and on my hard drive. I'm excited about the next shoot, the next trip, the latest and greatest ________ (most of the time). I do like to accomplish, but I really hate middles - dishes, laundry, endless hours of photo editing, yard work, etc.... But I'm better at all those things than I used to be, or at least my attitude is better. And I want to keep working on myself, I want to keep improving in all areas of my life.

And boy do I have a long, long way to go.

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But here's the deal. I've been hearing from a lot of folks who say they read my blog but never comment. So I thought I'd try a little incentive to see who's out there. If you leave a comment on this post, you will be entered to win a random drawing for an (after Christmas) photo session with me.

To be entered, just let me know which you are - a beginnings person, a middles person, or and ends person. Or two, or all three, I'm just kinda curious to know.

If for some reason you have a problem leaving a comment, let me know by email - parellimom@aol.com.

Contest ends at midnight on December 5th, a week from now. I will post the name of the winner here on my blog.

Thanks!

And here are a few photos of my kids taken on Thanksgiving day. Love these guys!

We were down at a place called The Barracks where there's a tunnel that goes under the highway.