Day 1 - Welcome to 2022! Today, focus on greeting the new year with three things:
- Acceptance for what's out of your control.
- A hunger to grow beyond what you are today.
- A question: What kind of rider/person do you want to be?
Day 2 You are not your goals; you are your habits.
- What are some of your daily habits? Do they reflect the kind of person/rider/horseman you’d like to be?
- What are some of your past habits that you’re proud of yourself for letting go of?
- What are some future habits that you could build that will reflect the kind of person/rider/horseman you’d like to be?
Day 3 Consider the ways that you can solve problems when they’re small… before they’re big.
- Get back on track after 1 missed workout.
- Ask for help after 1 bad ride.
- Look for clues after 1 lame step.
Day 4 What’s one way you can be more polite to your horse, starting today?
We think a lot about how to make our horses perform better for us, but what about ways that we can perform better for our horses? Start with the small stuff. Take extra time to tighten his girth - don’t crank it up. Loosen that noseband a notch - it really doesn’t have to be so tight. Spend an extra moment or two greeting your horse before you pull him away from his friends in the pasture. Give him a treat in the center of the ring at the end of your ride instead of letting him carry you back to the barn doors.
These moments seem small, but they add up. The result? Your horse will enjoy being around you more, and will enjoy being your teammate more. There’s so much that we do on the ground that we don’t even think about, but it can have an impact on our horse’s mood once we’re in the saddle.
Day 5 Do You Have a Plan?
You’ve heard the saying ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail.’ While not every rider has to have competition goals (plenty of us don’t here at team NF!) or has to strive for a certain level of skill in the saddle, it’s a good idea to simply have a plan that takes your horse’s soundness and well-being into consideration.
Day 6 What Are You Grateful For?
We know that a gratitude practice can measurably change the way you think and feel. So, what are 3 things you’re grateful for today? (Bonus points: Write them down!)
- My husband
- My support network
- My pets
Day 7 Are you driven to win?
What if, instead of winning, you simply focused on improving every area of your horsemanship, horse handling, riding, and knowledge by 1% on a daily, weekly basis?
What would happen if all those small changes added up? Would you end up moving up the rankings (or however you measure winning) anyway, while being focused on improvement and progress instead of outcome?
Day 8 Remember, you don’t have to set goals or resolutions
But if you do, here’s some framework via Dr. Jenny Susser’s Equestrian Masterclass:
Day 9 A 60-Second Exercise for Worriers
Take out a pen and piece of paper. Yes, paper - no phones.
Set a timer for 60 seconds and write down all of the worries, fears, concerns or thoughts you have in this minute. None are too big or too small, or too weird or embarrassing.
When the timer goes off, go through this list and label each as “Past”, “Present”, or “Future”.
Most of us will find that the vast majority of these concerns live in the past, or in the future. But the past is out of your control - there’s nothing you can do to undo it. And the concerns of the future have not happened yet - they’re not real.
Reflect on what is in your control now - today. The rest, try and let go.