Ep 162: Finding Joy in the Preparation
During the holiday season, we often find ourselves filled with gratitude as we are surrounded by family and friends in celebration. It's easy to feel abundantly grateful in these seasons; however, when it comes to our normal everyday routines–getting back to “the grind” as some may say–these feelings of joy and gratitude tend to become clouded by our stresses, worries and frustrations.
Whether in our everyday lives or training horses, our minds are naturally wired to focus on the areas that we need to improve. While analyzing our performance can be productive, if we go about it the wrong way, it can also be a limitation to our self image and confidence moving forward.
If all we do is focus on our shortcomings and stress about what we should be doing better, we lose sight of the things we have to be thankful for. If we focused on our strengths and the things we did well today instead of all the things that went wrong, it would be much easier to achieve those feelings of abundant gratitude. When you operate from a place of abundance and gratitude, you are able to find joy in the preparation for success, not just success itself.
The same is true with our horsemanship. With horses, we tend to work most on the areas that need improvement. From the horse’s perspective, if all we do is work on the things that they don’t feel confident in, sooner or later, their job isn’t going to seem very fun. If we never give our horses a chance to practice the things they are good at and build confidence, they are eventually going to begin associating us with stress, anxiety and distrust. As trainers, we have to help them find peace and enjoyment in the progression of their training, not just the end result.
As you go through the day today, I encourage you to slow down and take a pause to reflect and fill yourself with gratitude. Every day may not be good, but there’s always something good in every day.
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