All successful riders seek to constantly improve themselves and their riding. The problem though is that we see the problems before we see what is good and what is working well. When we don’t see the good we are blocked from seeing and appreciating the whole picture.
For example when you finish a ride. What do you zoom in on? The one difficulty. Helpful to zoom out and focus on the whole ride and how it all worked together.
It is a Scientific fact that humans have a negativity bias. 1 negative experience can wipe out 8 positive things. This is normal, and was part of our evolutionary process to keep us safe. However, this Causes damage to our perspective. Over the long term, it can even cause damage to our mental and physical health, if left unchecked.
If we don’t mindfully keep this in check we draw the wrong assumptions about what is actually working well and what isn’t. It skews our mental assessment about our horse, our riding, and ourselves. Left unchecked, this negativity bias becomes a monster in our head that leads us to believe we are awful riders, awful humans, that we will never learn to ride, and that we have no business doing what we’re doing.
But none of this is true. Just because you think it doesn’t make it so.
It is our responsibility to do something about this so we don’t only focus on what isn’t working so we find balance. This balance is vital to our development as riders.
It is a practice, a habit you can begin to cultivate. Cultivate the habit to look for and acknowledge what IS good and what IS working in a ride. You can do this today. This is something small you can put into practice today which will drastically affect your progress and riding for the rest of your years.
When you do this after every ride, when you make it a habit, you actually shift your perspective. And thanks to neuroplasticity, You literally change your brain structure when you train it to see the good, too.
Gratitude practice for riders:
When you get off the horse, before too much time passes and you start thinking about something else, while it is fresh in your mind, quickly come up with at least three things, that were good about the ride:
1. At least one thing good about the horse: did he try really hard, was he able to do something better.
2. At least one good thing about yourself: something that felt good, something you did right, an improvement to your seat or aids.
3. At least one improvement, highlight, or new discovery.
Make a commitment to do this for the next 30 days and then take stock of what this simple daily gratitude practice does to improve your mental outlook, processes of assessment, and speed of improvement and progress in your learning and training.
Tip: How to cultivate a positive outlook in your riding [+ VIDEO]
