Ep 174: Effort is a Decision
If you’ve listened to this podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about the concept of “teaching effort.” When it comes to training horses, I am a firm believer that effort can be taught. Effort is determined by expectations, and as trainers, we are responsible for setting expectations about the amount of effort our horses need to put forth to achieve the desired results.
Now, this is not to say that we have to ask for maximum effort from our horses all the time. Sometimes, asking for more effort can just mean one more step. More effort can mean one more split second of focus that our horses give us. Effort doesn’t always have to be intense, it just has to be intentional.
I believe this concept of “teaching effort” can be applied to any aspect of our lives. I recently had the privilege to speak to a group of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students about the topic of sportsmanship. I worked on that 10 minute speech for probably a few hours, and I wrote up multiple iterations of my definition of sportsmanship. To me, sportsmanship comes down to how you act and how you treat people. And, both of these things take effort.
I remember when I was in fourth grade, we started playing school sports. In school, I was never the best student or the stand-out athlete. I was a real “middle of the roader.” But, I had one thing that no one was going to outmatch, and that was my effort. My dad held us kids to a high standard when it came to putting forth effort. He didn’t care what we did; but whatever we did, we were going to try hard. We were going to put out the effort.
Those lessons I learned as a fourth grader, I still use today. The concept of sportsmanship–how we act and how we treat people–isn’t just applicable to sporting events. Sportsmanship is an everyday event. It’s a choice of whether or not to put forth the effort to do the right things and to be our best.
Effort is a learned habit. It’s the product of a simple decision that is made daily. It comes down to answering the simple question: are you willing to put in the work?
Again, effort doesn’t always have to be intense. It just has to be intentional and consistent.
As you go through your day today, think about the areas where you are putting in effort…
Did you put some effort into making your bed?
Did you put effort into how you presented yourself today?
Did you make the effort to smile and say hi to your coworkers?
Did you make the effort to stop and hold the door open for someone?
Did you make the effort to be kind to someone today?
Did you make the effort to be kind to yourself today?
Sometimes, just a little extra effort makes all the difference.
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