It’s that time of year again. How many times have you seen a post about new year’s goals or resolutions? 5? 10? 100? Me too. I saw a post recently voicing frustration with the new year goal setting. At first I quickly felt feelings of disagreement, but then the person stated you should set goals year-round not just once a year. I couldn’t agree more.
Okay, so how do you set goals without feeling discouraged? Here are some strategies to avoid discouragement when goal setting year round.
Tips for Equestrian Goal Setting
- Be realistic. Consider your current abilities, situation and resources? For example, it would be unrealistic for me to set a goal of HITS Ocala Low Adult Circuit Champion when I’ll be showing for 2 out of the 10 wees.
- Break it down. Don’t rest everything on one large goal. Dissolve your big goal for the month, quarter, year, etc. into smaller, manageable goals that feel less overwhelming.
- Find you “why.” Understanding what motivates you can help you get through challenges. And yes, there will be challenges.
- Track your progress. Using a calendar, tracker or journal to monitor your progress. I might be in the works of a tool to help with this!
- Celebrate. Yes, even the small wins. I have notoriously not been the best at this but I’m working at becoming a little better at celebrating the small wins whether that be a great lesson or one clean lead change for the week.
Be sure to visualize yourself reaching your goals. This will improve your motivation and confidence. And while positive thinking doesn’t always work, negative thinking does. If you can shift your mindset (yes, I’m still working on this piece) to mainly positive thinking that will go a long way!
Like these tips? Check out Tonya Johnson’s book Inside Your Ride: Mental Skills for Being Happy and Successful with your Horse. I’ve been listening to mine on the way to the barn and just finished the chapter on fear and then had an AMAZING lesson.
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