Ep 143: Making Time for the Things that Matter Most
This week, I had a chance to visit with one of my best and oldest friends, J.D. Crouse. This conversation brought a flood of memories back, and it reminded me that time truly is our most precious commodity.
When I was in graduate school, I coached at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and J.D. was on the rodeo team that year. J.D. is one of those cowboys that you wanted to be around — he was insanely talented, and incredibly hard working. One of the things I remember most about J.D.’s rodeo career is how impressive he was at multiple events. J.D. is a former NFR tie-down roper and steer wrestler, qualifying in both events in the same year.
If you’ve competed in multiple events, you know just how much time it takes to practice these disciplines and stay competitive in each respective event. The same is true with any area of your life or business. To maintain a growth mindset and continually push yourself to get better, it takes time.
During this conversation, the thing I realized about time is that I probably don’t take enough time to do the things that fill my cup. Taking a day to clear my agenda and catch up with an old friend was such a life-giving activity, and it made me realize that I need to make time for more of that.
When we’re goal-oriented, it’s so easy to put our head down and put the work in. But, we have to remember to pick our head up every once in a while to enjoy the hard work that we’ve put in. We have to learn to care for ourselves and make time for the things that matter most.
In this sense, it’s also easy to put our head down and go through the motions with our horsemanship. Especially when we are in a competitive season, taking time to reinforce fundamentals usually isn’t top of mind. But, our horses need that time from us. They need us to make time for the things that matter most to them.
I have a horse in training right now that is an extremely reactive horse. At no fault of his own, his owners, or his previous trainers, this horse is an incredibly anxious animal. That’s simply his nature. He is a horse that requires me to slow down and take the time to build his confidence before I ever put a saddle on him. He requires me to carve out time to focus on the thing that matters most — the relationship I have with that animal.
As you go through your day today, don’t forget to pause and enjoy some of the things in life that matter most. No time is ever wasted on the relationships that we have with ourselves, our horses and those that matter most to us.
“Be Your Best Horsemanship” is brought to you by Silver Lining Herbs, Classic Equine, Martin Saddlery, Better Horses Network, Purina, Healthycoat, CINCH, Starbar, and Clarifly. These brands have been part of the Phil Haugen Horsemanship team for many years, and their products continue to play an integral role in the success of our performance horse training program. To support these brands, visit our Sponsors tab.
