Have you experienced SELF LIMITING BELIEFS IN RIDING ? As a Horsemanship teacher I spend my time working with horse riders as they start and educate their horses, I’m always surprised by how much of their success (or lack thereof) has to do with their mindset. Too often what I hear are self-limiting beliefs from students who speak as if these thoughts are factually true. When I work with female riders, for example, I often hear fear that they don’t know enough because theyre just starting out or they are comparing themselves to a male counterpart or that they are simply a female and its not possible to achieve what they want to achieve. Or because they don’t have 20 years of experience, a PhD in horsemanship, and a well-known breed of horse, that theyre a fraud. Others are limited because of their perfectionist tendencies and so the idea of failing in horsemanship or competition is terrifying. They say things like, I couldn’t survive a public form of failure, or I’m not savvy enough to know what is taking place in my horse and how to fix it or I don’t know if this horse is the right horse for me. What you say to yourself frames the way you make decisions, and how you communicate with your horse and move forward with your horsemanship. Allowing self-limiting beliefs to take hold will sabotage even the best of efforts. Shifting your thoughts and perceptions to support your goals is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success and viability of your horsemanship and riding fulfilment. Here are a couple of steps to ensure you don’t allow these beliefs to interfere with your horse riding dreams: 1. Identify the beliefs that are holding you back. I had a student whose husband was stifling her beliefs of progression with her horse, she believed that she was unable to achieve her dream of showing in the ring as he had projected his values of a wife following his dreams not hers, she subordinated to him and the belief was so ingrained that she was afraid to learn and go to the next step of competing with her horse she avoided taking simple steps to get her horse to move forward for the fear she would lose her husband. She avoided taking simple measures to improve her horsemanship despite her natural ability and infinity for the horse. The belief was paralyzing her horse and horsemanship and was preventing her from gaining the dream she wanted. Your beliefs may not be as extreme or stubborn as this one, but I haven’t met a single horse rider who hasn’t had some belief that’s hurting their progress toward their goal. What most people don’t realize is that the rest of the world hasn’t bought into these beliefs. They are only true in your eyes because you’ve chosen to believe them, albeit unconsciously. 2. Question these thoughts. The next step is to stop buying into your self-limiting beliefs just because you always have. Start by questioning what evidence you have to support your belief. Is it really true that you need that 20 years experience or PhD? Or are there people out there doing the same thing with a lot less? Is it true you have to sacrifice to own a horse? Chances are, you won’t find the evidence to support your limiting beliefs. You only believe them because theyre a leftover relic from what you’ve heard from the past from someone who never truly understood your capabilities or potential (even if that someone cared deeply for you). 3. Shift these thoughts and perceptions. Now it’s time to move beyond this rigid thinking and be more flexible in what you believe. What quality questions can you ask and behavioral changes can you make to test whether this belief is really, in fact, true? If you believe you have to work ridiculously hard, sweat and ride long hours to achieve horsemanship or riding goals, reduce your hours and see what happens. Perhaps you’ll find the extra time makes you more efficient or that the incremental changes you make by working longer hours is simply not worth the sacrifice. All of this takes effort because you’re unraveling the belief system you’ve been holding on to for many years. It can be a slow process, but the key is to be conscious about it, ask quality questions and not let the unconscious take over. Your horse your lifestyle, and peace of mind will be better for it. Did you know that mentoring is one of my most favorite things to do? There is nothing more rewarding than taking someone who is experiencing fear or a mental block to expanding his or her awareness to ever-greater potential. If you are interested in private mentoring whether for your riding relationship or personal life. I offer a complimentary 15-minute consultation to see if we are a fit together. Consultations are done by Telephone, Skype or in person for more information just simply reply to this email me at [email protected] to set up a time.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 04:54:24 +0000
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