I have to be honest with you here really quick. Yesterday was a slight struggle. Hence the lack of post. Sorry about that.
Work has actually been going quite well which I am very happy about. We are busy, I have work to do, and my boss seems positive about the future. I am talking more personally.
For whatever reason, yesterday ended with me in a sour mood. Now that I think of it, I can not remember why. I suppose that is not really the point because it was not any one specific thing or event. The point is that I allowed myself to stay that way. Does anyone else ever feel that way?
I got home from work and did nothing but watch TV. I did not go for a walk or do any kind of exercise. I did not read. I was a big pile of negative. At least I made my bed that morning. Yay. Celebrate the little things! Anyway, I beat myself up about it. I settled to do some personal things on the computer, but the ___ it was not working.
I then eventually decided to stop wallowing and started watching the USEF George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session on the smart TV. That is the best thing about smart TVs! (I watch a lot of videos and read a lot of books/articles on all things horsemanship from all kinds of people in all different disciplines.)
I heard Anne Kursinski (5 time Olympian) say that you must focus as much or more on what you are doing right/well as you are on what you are doing ‘wrong.’ What and why made it work? We are our own worst critics and can have a tendency to beat ourselves down because we know that it is never the horses’ fault. I have also heard sports psychologist, Dr. Jenny R. Susser say the same thing (at least I think it was her) in a video of a Pat Parelli clinic.
Naturally, this applies to more than just success in riding horses. I know that I am my own worst critic in all things and I hold myself to a very high standard. It can really get in my way at times. We can only have ‘control’ over ourselves. We also have control over what our focus is. AHAmoments. To build upon and repeat success, set yourself up for success and focus on what is going right, the positive, more than what is not. Otherwise, you will continue to repeat the negative because that is all you see. Reward yourself. In theory, train yourself. The positive success will come second nature if you allow it.
Today is a new day and I am grateful for it! I will not let yesterday mess up my today.
Walk in love, dear readers.
Love this! My instructor is always saying, “don’t give voice to the things you don’t want to have happen.” By that she means instead of walking into the ring saying “don’t knock a fence,” say “go clear.” Just rephrasing can make the world of a difference in your mental game!
Absolutely agree, thank you for commenting! I love that.
I like that about focusing on what is going right. I recently took a course on accomplishing our goals with our horses, at hippologic.wordpress.com it was interesting. She talked about making a list of things that we needed to do to reach the goal and the first few on the list should be things we’ve already done. That way you can see that you are already making progress. Positive thinking is a powerful thing!
Yes! It is so powerful and it is so important to see what you have accomplished. To see that you are making progress and to see how it all builds upon itself, adds up. We can get so focused on the things we have not done that we loose sight of how far we have come!
Thank you for your comment!
I feel ya. I am my own worst critic, for sure! I have beat myself up for being down in the dumps several times in the past few weeks. I’m done with it.
Ya, kick those down in the dumps in the dump! How is winter treating you?