HOW TO KEEP MOTIVATED TOWARDS YOUR GOAL – DRESSAGE EDITION

I pursued a goal that took me twenty-five years to achieve. I feel that gives me some perspective on self-motivation and how to keep going in the face of overwhelming odds.

My goal was to show Grand Prix dressage. Whether I trained the horse myself wasn’t part of the goal, but the reality was that trained Grand Prix horses are expensive, so by default I had to train one myself. If someone would have told me it was going to take twenty-five years, I may have reconsidered. But nobody can know the future, and this was my dream. I couldn’t let it die.

So I kept on going, even though setbacks were unending. The specifics aren’t important, and would take too long to record here anyway. The thing I remember most is that even when I absolutely, positively wanted to give up many, many, times, and even decided it wasn’t worth all the sacrifice, somehow I kept convincing myself there was no other option but to go on. Following is a list of techniques I used to keep me going:

  1. Habit. Once a habit is established, it’s really hard to break it. We know this is true for things we shouldn’t be in the habit of doing, like smoking or eating too much. It applies just a well to positive habits. I think about NOT doing the thing I’m supposed to be doing.  Then I think, that’s a lazy way to be, it’s just a few hours, do it. I noticed if I got sick and took a few days off, all of a sudden it became easier to take even more days off. So you can’t have excuses.
  2. Step goals. Every day I decided what I would try and teach my horse, or what I wanted to improve on. If I really didn’t want to ride I would decide to make the session a little shorter and get this or that done. I found once I tacked up the horse and made the long walk to the arena, it wasn’t much extra effort to have a normal ride.
  3. That leads to momentum. Habit gets you there. Once you have the step goals, you make a little bit of progress, and you see your bigger goals coming into view. Unfortunately they can come into view and disappear just as fast.  What I’ve found was that like a slippery slope, once I had momentum, even if I slipped and fell, I didn’t fall all the way to the bottom. I landed on some ledge and I was still closer.
  4. Setbacks – this is a tough one. You just have to be mentally strong, and your habits will help you. Your habits will hold you up if your mental will gives out. It is difficult, and your inner voice will tell you to quit. What I say is that if I quit, I won’t get to that wonderful place. Something wonderful is going to happen, it will be better than I can even imagine, but if I quit I will never know it. Mind you, that wonderful thing was decades away in my case, but the habits kept me on.
  5. Loneliness – the road to excellence is a lonely one. You won’t find many kindred spirits. They show up here and there along the way. It’s unlikely they will be with you on your entire journey.  If you’re not careful you may be lulled into believing that where you currently are, is the best it can be. Staying where you are never leads to anything but emptiness. I would rather be lonely than empty. It is a sacrifice, but one worth making. If I didn’t make it, I wouldn’t be able to tell you about it.
  6. Choices – we all make them. Sure you can choose to give up, not pursue the goal, or change the goal. Each person knows what’s right for them. Be sure you ask yourself why and thoroughly understand the reasons. If you’re just tired, that is not a reason. You will regret giving up for that reason. You will never reach your potential. As far as I’m concerned, that is a waste.

Reaching my goal was pure joy – a huge reward. But remember, even when you reach your goal, it isn’t over. You’ve gotten to a new and better place, and now you can set your sights even higher. That’s the beauty of it.

It’s never too late to start the journey to your true calling. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or the mistakes you made in the past. Today is a new day to take the first steps towards your dream. It doesn’t have to happen overnight, but it will never happen unless you do something to change. START TODAY!

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