Ep 126: The Importance of Making Time for Yourself
When you live a busy lifestyle, sometimes, it’s hard to take time for yourself. In pursuit of family obligations, career goals, and other ambitions, many of us are hard-pressed to find a few extra minutes in each day. But, if there's one thing I've learned about horsemanship, it's that every improvement with my horses begins with me.
In my own life, time is my biggest obstacle. When I get to the end of the day, and I still have two or three horses left to ride, I have to be very careful not to accept the challenge of getting all three of those horses ridden. Instead, I have to remind myself to slow down and approach each horse at the same pace that I approached the first horse I rode that day. I have to make time to develop a meaningful connection with my horse.
Horsemanship is the art of establishing leadership and communication between horse and rider. Communication is essentially the connection you create with that animal’s mind. And, building connection with the horse's mind takes time.
Connection begins the moment I give myself permission to take time to make myself better. As a trainer, you have to be willing to give yourself that time to slow down, relax, and enjoy the process so that your horse can enjoy the process, too. Our horses deserve us at our best.
Time is a precious commodity–they don’t make more of it, and we all get the same amount of time each and every day. If there’s one piece of advice I have for you, it’s to dedicate some of this precious resource toward self improvement. When you focus on improving yourself, you are much more well-equipped to use the rest of your time more efficiently.
As you make this shift, you may have to delegate a few things so that you can do justice toward the things you are passionate about. Remember, you are worth giving yourself this time.
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