Motivational Ranching

Dear Reader,

Christmas is over, and this is the first year that I am not mournful about it. I understand that Christmas is hard for some people for various reasons, and sometimes I do get the Christmas blues when I remember people who are no longer there, and I get the Christmas stresses when there is so much to do on top of regular daily life, but overall, I love Christmas and am usually sad to see it leave. When I was in college, I would beg my mom to leave the tree up until I went back to school, but this year my brain said, “That was really fun, now let’s get organized for the New Year.”

The odd thing is that I usually hate New Year’s. Not the actual holiday, but the fact that it is a new year. The new year always felt like going to work with wet hair and no lotion on. It’s uncomfortable, dry, and maladjusted. I’m still trying to process Christmas, there is no Christmas Music on the radio, and its cold but nothing to look forward to at the end of the month. But for some reason this year is different. I wonder if it is because I am not having to go back to school. I graduated almost three years ago, but I think it has finally sunk into my subconscious this year. Or maybe I am just excited for my plans for the new year.

When I make plans for the new year, I like to make specific events to work towards and not new year resolutions. For example, if I wanted to exercise more, I would have to make plans to go hike in a certain place on a certain date, instead of just saying, “I’m going to walk a mile a day this year.” (I tried that last January and it lasted until mid-February.) I also like to make monthly goals because I can defniantly put 15 rides on a colt, but I don’t know if I can have him broke at the end of the year, even if I rode him that many times a month or more, he would probably be broke by the end of the year…

They say you eat an elephant one bite at a time, but I have to trick myself that I am eating beef and get desert afterwards to get anything done.

Sometimes when I am cleaning or writing I like to listen to budgeting or cleaning/organizing videos because it makes me feel productive and put together, and I feel like a rancher needs those kind of videos too. It’s just hard to find a video titled “Chat with me while I ride this bronc” or “Fence Fixing Motivation” (the only thing that motivates a rancher to fix fence is when the cow gets out). It’s also hard to find a Ted Talk about ranching that gets you pepped up; you will never see “How I found the true meaning of joy while loading heifers in the hopper.” But what if ranchers planned and motivated themselves like everyone else?

Planners

Most ranchers have day books that their wives pick up for them at the bank or any other place that they give out free planners. But if a rancher bought a specialized planner with quotes, it would say things like…

“When one gate gets shut, another gets left open.”

“They’re only this age once, just get them loaded on the truck.”

“You know it’s already a good day when you wake up in the morning because if you are just waking up now, nothing got out last night.”

Ted Talks

Everyone loves a good Ted Talk! But if ranchers did Ted Talks, nothing would be longer than five minutes, and they would all have closed captioning with titles like:

“How I reduced my stress by 70%” (Spoiler, he sold his cows.)

“How we start talking again after a fight” (someone got stuck in the mud)

“What it took to realize that life is too short” (someone got caught in the hopper with a Brahman heifer)

Productivity YouTube Videos

Most people feel productive, even falsely productive when they watch others do things. I love to watch organizing or budgeting videos because it makes me feel like I am an organized person, but what would ranchers make videos to help motivate others to get their chores done?

“How I stay organized for shipping season”

“Let’s clean the house after being at the fair all week”

“Help me wash out the stock trailer after hauling a load”

“Five ways I motivate myself to get fencing done”

“Ask me anything while I put the first ride on a colt”

But dear reader, we don’t make these things because there is either no time or no room for error while holding a camera.

Sincerely and motivatedly yours,

The Rancher’s Daughter