LEC, who is an EN guest writer and our UK connection has written some of her thoughts about creating, pursuing, and then evaluating our goals. Thanks for writing this LEC and thank you for reading.
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From LEC:
If you are anything like me the best way of getting through the winter is to plan for the new season even though your bank manager and family might protest that you are already thinking so far ahead! I have always struggled with my confidence–especially riding. John wrote a piece a while ago about enjoying the journey which strongly resonated with me as this has often been forgotten in my quest to reach a goal, and as soon as that goal is reached, I felt no satisfaction and had already moved on to the next goal. I often put so much pressure on myself to do well that I would struggle to hold it all together, especially during weaker phases at events. These weak areas would then become giant obstacles in my mind that I would then chronically beat myself up about when things went wrong. By enjoying the journey more I have been able to smile at the small successes and take pleasure in the changes. So I thought I would write briefly about goals and some ways that might help us achieve them in a positive way.
Making Goals: In order to make a success of 2011 there needs to be a clear outcome or goal, otherwise you will continue to do what you have always done. Writing down your goals is a clear way to start planning and working out a way for you to achieve those goals. Once you have written down your goals, the next stage is to see if they fit in with your life–the majority of us are amateurs and there are lots of other pressures in life! You may realize that due to other commitments your equestrian goal might be extremely hard. We must consider how horses, home/family and friends, personal development, and work/finance will each impact our goals. We might decide to adjust our goals if we know that finances will impinge, or your family is more important than a given goal.
In her book Simple Steps to Riding Success, Liz Morrison says that by placing your goal in context will help you move forward. Liz Morrison suggests you make a chart where you write up your:
· Strengths
· Weaknesses
· Opportunities – external factors in your favor
· Threat – external factors which weight against you.
Try and restrict yourself to say 5 or 6 in each box and make sure each box is fairly even as its too easy to focus on the negatives. This will help you focus your efforts and also make you realize the detail that goes into getting to your goal.
Execution: Writing goals down is the easy part! The next step is to actually accomplish them. I think one reason that professionals are so good is that they leave as little as possible to chance–all their work is done at home. Over the last two years I have spent some time helping a friend who is a pro by grooming for her at events, and riding some of her horses at home. I had the biggest wake up when I realized how much work goes on at home and how concentrated the training is. A weekly preparation plan is written up for each horse keeping in mind the goals for the month ahead. In contrast, I often find myself working on one aspect and then drifting into doing something different. In the end, none of the training goals end up fully completed.
Another reason professionals have so much success is that they get more practice than us amateurs. All of my professional friend’s horses will jump roughly once a week at home, and in the two weeks running up to a competition they will go out to a schooling show, and jump either in a competition or just a practice round. By the time her horses get to an event they are not phased by the atmosphere or height because it had all been covered at home.
Tracking Progress: Once we set goals and then focus on achieving each one, the next step is to keep track of your goals. I find that ticking them off from a list helps keep me motivated. Even when things are not going as planned, try to look for positives and write down what you have learned. It is important to remember that these are your goals and not to get side tracked by the success of others. It is far too easy to look at the pros and feel that you are letting your horse down if you are not competing equally at the same level. But if you think about it, horses don’t have the same ambitions that we do so doing things as slowly as you wish will not bother your horse. One of the best quotes I have read in a long time is ‘those that mind do not matter and those that matter do not mind’ so make sure you listen to those that you respect and know have your best interests at heart, because these are the people that will help you when the going is tough and be thrilled for you when you have success.
As long as you enjoy the journey and plan successfully then your goals are there to be grasped no matter how big or small.
So EN readers – Do you plan your goals? Do you struggle with placing too much pressure on yourself? Are you reluctant to make plans with horses? Do you feel pressure from other people? Do you have any top tips that have worked for you in achieving your goals?
