My dad took on the role of my mental coach when I was competing.
Before big competitions he would talk to me about not beating myself before I walked into the show pen.
Trying too hard is something that came up on the agenda frequently.
When the stakes felt higher, I would overdo every little thing trying so hard to perform my best.
Instead of simply keeping my chin up, I would push my head back. Instead of squaring my shoulders I would push them back and my belly would pop out.
I would become rigid as a board. Which is not cool and not how you win.
It wasn’t from not trying, it was from trying too hard.
I started to understand that winning happens long before you get there and it comes from the practice pen.
The practice pen isn’t about pretending to be something you aren’t…it’s about figuring out how to do things better and at a higher level than you were before.
I learned to practice at the leveI I wanted to win at whenever I was riding, so when I got there, the details were second nature… then I could treat it like every other horse show.
Life is the same way.
Before you can be who you want to be, have what you want to have, and do what you want to do… you have to be already living it.
If you want more from life, you have to give more to life.
If you want more people to support you, you need to support more people.
If you want to be healthy, you need to eat well.
If you want to enjoy life, stop doing the things that make you miserable.
It’s not always easy.
Much of the time you have to discipline yourself to create new habits, or new expectations.
Then when you get to the “big show”, you have already become who you need to be and you don’t have to try to be something you aren’t.