The beginning of a year is not the only time to set or evaluate goals. Life happens and circumstances change, especially in 2020! I think that getting half-way through 2020 has shown me more of what the potential the rest of the year has. I'm going to reflect on what my original goals were and make adjustments as needed. I've heard a lot of advise about being okay with not finishing a book you don't enjoy. I'm going to apply that philosophy to my goals and also to remove any that may not be possible this year so that I'm only inspired when I read my goals, not disheartened or under solely a sense of obligation.
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Bitless has always interested me. Not putting a piece of metal into a horse's mouth is appealing concept. When natural horsemanship increased in popularity, so did riding bitless. This post goes over my jump into bitless this year as well as my thoughts on bitless options and my journey up to this point.
Every horse owner has to make the decision about what they will do with their horse. It may or may not involve competition, but there will always be a direction or "discipline". Usually no matter what that chosen discipline there is a way to compete. I've given much thought over the years into what disciplines and competitions I would like to pursue throughout my horsemanship journey. At one point I was drawn to reining, but a gifted gaited horse that doesn't lope changed that plan! Recently I've also put a lot of thought into what competitions I want to participate in. In this post I consider my options and thoughts on each.
I've always been drawn to liberty work. It has an almost mystical allure. When there are no ropes, there is only the truth. The freedom and beauty is attractive to even non-horse people. I started my liberty journey early on with Zeke and followed methods that were popular at that time. However, as I grew in my horsemanship journey I started doing less liberty and did not like how it always affected Zeke. Then I found a new way, a better way. No chasing. No tools (not even a whip). Just harmony.
The Cowboy Dressage Liberty Division is a division all of its own! Read about what the Cowboy Dressage Liberty Division is, how to advance, and my liberty journey with Zeke (shown as "Night Fury").
Due to shows being shutdown because of the novel coronavirus, Cowboy Dressage World decided to begin offering virtual shows. Some are hosted by Cowboy Dressage World themselves, but other organizations have offered Cowboy Dressage sanctioned shows as well. The different organizations handle them differently logistically, but they are all exciting opportunities to show, grow in partnership, learn (about technology too!), and have fun. In this post I will go over my experiences in the first two virtual Cowboy Dressage shows I entered.
With regular competitions cancelled, many organizations are creating virtual avenues to compete from the safety of your own barn. Before the virtual trend I was already doing Virtual Obstacle Shows and preparing for some planned competitions (now cancelled). Zeke and I are still fairly new to the realm of competition. Our transition from pleasure only to competitive has been an interesting experience, and I have been thinking about it and its effect on our relationship a lot lately.
This month was not an ordinary month for almost anyone. It was definitely a trying time for me as well even though I know I did not have it that bad and am very grateful for my current circumstances. However, April still had me in a funk, so it was not anything close to my normal. I even feel like Aprils was "cancelled". I resonate with a meme of The Office when Michael tell Jim to take away April too.
The “Goal Crushing Worksheet” is my favorite resource for breaking down my major goals for the month. I do it for a major goal for each of my top four mission goals. It goes though the acronym “CRUSH IT” which stands for Claim your target, Refine your objective, Understand your motivation, Step it out, Handle obstacles, Implement your plan, Treat yourself. This worksheet encompasses the essential processes for achieving goals.
Reflecting on a period of time is a key way to learn and improve. Since I plan and set goals on a monthly basis, I like to also review each month. In my monthly reflection I will reflect on the month in summary, the goals I set for the month, my accomplishments during the month, lessons I learned, and improvements I want to make in the future.
In the last six months I have had some of my major goals shattered in ways that were beyond my control. It really felt like the rug was ripped from underneath my feet. The world was different. I had to redirect my path even though I really didn't want to. I had emotionally invested in the goal and was working toward it. Now things were different. The path was gone, delayed, or complicated. With all of the recent developments I know there are others in the same boat. I will share about my experiences when my goals were shattered.
I've always wanted to work from home, and this week was my chance to start. I'm looking forward to transitioning and learning how to be really productive in routinely working from home. There has definitely been a learning curve during the transition as I figure out how to maximize my ability to work from home. In this post I'll go over what I learned from my first week of working from home.
We will never be able to take our daily lives for granted again. We can't control our circumstances, but we can control our reactions and our attitudes. During this time I want to be grateful, embrace innovation, and make the most of the any opportunities. Being grateful changes the frame of the situation and is proven to be a route to increased happiness. Innovation will be necessary, but is also spurred on by hard times. I've been inspired by how others have adapted and from the story of the game Monopoly with its humble roots from the Great Depression. I'm also trying to look for opportunities in this time. There are many new opportunities that weren't the same under normal circumstances. Those are the ones that I am going to highlight in this post. Keep reading to hear about how I will take advantage of the opportunities social distancing brings and what goals I have set.
Trail riding is by far my favorite thing to do. But yet I haven't done much of it. Because I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what MIGHT go wrong, and it is keeping me from doing what I truly enjoy. I've analyzed where the fear originated, what I have done about it, and what my plan is going forward to expand my comfort zone while trail riding.
Setting goals in my life has two big truths: I am always very excited in December/January and make (overly)ambitious goals and life never quite goals according to the ideal plan.
In January and February there were a number of things (usually I had to work more than anticipated) that made me prioritize my goals and sacrifice progress in one in order to stay on-track for the other. I only have so much time and I won't sacrifice sleep. In fact, I prioritize sleep when I am tired over other activities because I want to listen to my body and I know when I am tired I am less productive and what I do is of significantly less quality. So when I realize that I can't quite do everything that my ambition set out for, it's time to re-calibrate. |
DisclaimerOther than my partners/affiliates listed on my recommended resources page, I am not affiliated with any product or business other than being a customer, supporter, or member. I am an amateur (with an accounting day job) and do not receive any income from the horse industry. Anything I write about is from my own experiences. Nothing is intended to instruct you in how to act. All horse activities are innately dangerous, so please use caution and understand the risks. Categories
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Here I share my in-depth & often analytical thoughts along my journey. I hope you enjoy my musings, and feel free to share your thoughts! I enjoy learning from you!
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