Sixteen year olds are too funny. They think they know it all. They think they are insightful and worldly, but they really are not (at least the ones I have come in contact with). I remember being in 10th grade in high school and all I wanted was my driver’s license. Having my own license and car meant that I would finally have a degree of freedom. I could drive my friends around. I could go somewhere without my parents having to drive me or pick me up. Basically having a car was equivalent to having a new pair of wings.
Funny thing about my driver’s license. I actually failed my permit twice, maybe three times…I can’t quite remember. My actual driver’s test, I failed once and passed the second time. Normally I was an avid student who received very good grades all around. Yet, I never once studied for that “silly” test. I never opened the books, or reviewed any materials. I thought I knew it all. I thought I could waltz right into the DMV in Montpelier and they would practically hand a license right to me. After failing my permit multiple time I realized I actually needed to study this stuff if I had any hope of EVER passing. I begrudgingly began reviewing and practicing for my exam and I finally passed.
Some people are luckier than others. Some people do not have to work as hard as others, but generally speaking if you want to learn how to do something, or you want to get better at something, you have to put the time and effort into that thing before you begin to see any results.
I went for a hack with Denny a couple days ago and he had a great story about horses and fitness. I am not sure if this is exactly how the story goes…but I have the general idea. Denny was sitting with a group of endurance riders and some guy asked how do you get your horses really fit? Someone responded by saying, you have to REALLY put the time in if you want results. The guy responded with the following: Oh, so it’s like a coke machine-you have to put your 25 cents in if you want to get a soda in return. Similarly, if you don’t put any money in the machine, you won’t get anything in return.
What a fabulous analogy. I never really thought of it that way. Truly, we have to put in a $1.50, or in our case, we have to put the TIME and ENERGY in if we want to have a real horse on the other side. Horses are not magically fit or strong. Riders have to dedicate their time and patience into making strong and agile horses.
Unfortunately for me, I have always been a person filled with a sense of urgency. I don’t particularly like waiting for anything…a bus, a plane, a friend meeting me at a restaurant. Whatever it is that I am waiting for, I don’t like it. I want things to happen quickly, and/or immediately. However, horses cannot be about immediate gratification. Everything about horses takes time and cannot be rushed. Fitness takes times and cannot be rushed or avoided. Therefore I really need to relax and learn how to wait because this sport cannot be rushed or learned quickly in a pinch. I will never forget that horses are like vending machines in that you need to put the time and energy into their training if you expect to get anything in return.
