Ep 59: Staying Faithful in the Process
“Never give up and you’ll never fail.”
I adopted this saying a long time ago, and I’ve carried it in the back of my mind for many years.
I may not always be successful, but I will go out trying. This is what keeps me going on the tough days, and it is always a subtle reminder that I am never truly failing as long as I am continually trying to move forward.
I always like to start my day with something inspirational, and the YouTube video I watched this morning contained a very similar philosophy.
In the video, Steve Harvey talked about how every person has a “turn back moment.” That moment when you get stubborn, push forward, and decide you are never going to quit, or you turn back and fall into your plan B. His quote was:
“If you quit, the guarantee is that it will never happen.” – Steve Harvey
The moral of his story was to remain faithful. Most people lose faith before their plan A comes to pass. When things don’t work out the way they had planned, they quit and turn back to their plan B. They give up before they plan A ever has a chance to come to fruition.
This philosophy parallels horse training in many ways.
There are ample opportunities throughout the day to get frustrated and throw in the towel. But if you remain faithful in the process, you will never fail.
Another spin on this philosophy was from an article I read by Matt Sherwood. As he puts it:
“If you never take the risk it takes to win first, you’ll never win first.” – Matt Sherwood
I catch myself hesitating to push my horses out of their comfort zones because I want them to stay in that spot where everything is working perfectly. I’m scared to let them try because I’m scared they’re going to fail.
But if I never have the faith in that horse to allow them to make a mistake in the first place, I’ll never know what they’re capable of. I’ll never help them reach their full potential if I never give them the chance to fail.
The only way to build confidence is to put yourself and your horses in an uncomfortable situation where you both have an opportunity to rise to the challenge. The more I relax and put my hands down, the more opportunity I give that horse to figure it out and build confidence.
Early in my career, I really struggled with this. I was a serious micromanager, and I constantly found myself trying to correct problems before I ever allowed them to happen. Then, one day, I decided that it was okay to fail. Because in reality, it’s not failing. It’s giving myself a learning opportunity.
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