Ive been thinking a lot about psychology this week - Im not sure why, but I seem to have seen loads of posts about confidence and how much to beat yourself up over mistakes this week, on facebook and forums and all over the place. There were certainly words spoken by Rui in my lesson on Sunday about mistakes being an inevitable part of schooling and not to dwell on them in the face of an otherwise awesome session. Furthermore, my other instructor from Back to Balance posted a couple of links on similar themes the previous week. Are we all just having a collective wobble as the nights draw in, or is it just me over-thinking things?! Bizarrely, Im on a bit of a confidence high at the moment (waiting for the bubble to burst - pride before a fall and all that!). I think Ferguss training is going OK and, unlike some previous years, Im at a point where I can hack him out and keep him working over winter without too much trouble. Im not sure if this is the security of a few minor positional re-shuffles or just a manifestation of my state of mind, but weve gone from hacking in a double with spurs, schooling whip and neckstrap about a month ago to ditching everything but a simple snaffle. Hes still spooky and silly, but it just doesnt seem to worry me at the moment... Im not so good, however, when it comes to mistakes. I film a lot of what I do in the school, and generate massive photosets at lessons and competitions - and when I go through them Im regularly horrified by some of what I see! The phrase what was I doing THAT for?! is often spoken as I trawl through them - and I know a lot of people have similar reactions to photos of themselves riding! Whilst its important to accept that we all make mistakes, I actually dont think this reaction is entirely a bad thing - I try to channel that horror into something more constructive: the will to improve. One thing Im noticing is that fixing old habits and mistakes is hard - that shouldnt be a surprise, but Ive always found things are easy, or Ive assumed Im just not capable of them and never will be. Its been a bit of an odd revelation to me to realise some things are possible with a bit of hard work! And if seeing photos which makes me wince give me just a little drive to keep on that quest, thats got to be a good thing, right? Within reason, anyway. None of us are perfect, and the only way to avoid making mistakes is to stay firmly entrenched within your comfort zone. And awesome things never come from comfort zones, do they?
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:33:10 +0000
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