Nothing in life stays the same, everything is in constant motion. The planets are always moving, the day turns to night, we are born, we grow physically, mentally and spiritually and when we finally stop growing and moving – the first cycle comes to an end – and a new one begins all over again in one way or another.

It is impossible to stand still for long before you realize that you are actually moving backwards as everything else is moving forwards around you. The common human desire to reach a stationary state of certainty and security of having “arrived” or an ideal state where everything is perfect and everyone is happy all the time is complete Utopia and would actually represent the end of a cycle…not a constant state of ongoing bliss.

I recently had a funny discussion around this topic with one of my fellow trainers and clients.

She told me that she had realized from working with me that one of her biggest obstacles to growth was the belief that “everything was already pretty good”.

I found this very interesting because most of the time, people desire to fix something and are upset because everything isn’t good enough and they want it to be better so they can feel better. They are experiencing the pain that comes from wanting something and not yet having it and perhaps not knowing how to get it.

That’s where I come in and help save the day!:-)

However, I have come across many riders who despite being stuck on the same level for what seems like whole lifetimes, don’t seem to be all that bothered about it. This is an interesting mindset to me, because I’m all about gratitude, being in the now and being grateful for everything you already have so that you can truly appreciate every part of your journey and focus on the gains and the wins you have gathered along the way…but, I do find all of this becomes very mundane and complacent like Groundhog Day if we do not continue to set new standards and new goals for ourselves and our horses on a regular basis.

New levels to grow into, finding yet new strengths, new possibilities and new exciting adventures.

Have you considered that it’s time to exchange “pretty good” for “great”?

I also think that the horse industry has this belief that training horses “takes time” and that is true with some things, but not everything takes time, in many cases if it takes too much time, it just means that you’re doing it wrong.

If you’re applying the right methods and implementing them correctly, you should see improvement and growth every time you ride which would naturally inspire you to keep moving and growing.

Most of us who follow our hearts and have horses in our lives, are “pretty good” at living a life that is “pretty good” – or pretty close to the life we really dream of. We don’t want to be selfish or ungrateful for what we already have. However, maybe there’s a possibility that we’ve settled somewhere along the way for pretty good in ways that are actually stunting our continued growth.

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal” ~ Robert Brault.

Perhaps this shows up in your riding or maybe it shows up in your relationships, your income, your business, your health or your level of creativity. Maybe by settling for “pretty good” you have given up on the idea of reaching your full potential and going all in.

I have reached this impasse many times over in my life, where I realized I had to surrender and shed what already was, for what I was growing into. I couldn’t continue to take the same path, doing the same actions, thinking the same thoughts and behaving the same way and expect to end up somewhere different.

“What got you here, won’t get you there” ~ Marshall Goldsmith

In other words, if you don’t change course, you’ll end up where you’re going LOL….and if that means that your actions, thoughts and emotions aren’t being renewed, then you’ll end up the same place on repeat all the time.

Boring. Boring. Boring.

The solution is to be willing to do something NEW. This doesn’t mean that you throw the old completely away. If it was good, then you need to maintain that part as you build new stuff on top of it in order to reach new heights.

Just like building a house: First you lay down the foundation, then you build the frame and then you add the walls and the roof. After that, it’s detail time. This is where creativity comes in with decorating the outside and the inside of the house etc.

It’s the same way with horse training. Make your foundation and frame strong and then you can be creative and play with all the fun higher-level stuff. However, if you don’t maintain your foundation, you will continuously experience trouble as you move up the levels and this will eventually stop your growth.

I guess the secret sauce to feeling inspired and fulfilling your highest potential, is to create a state of STABILITY first instead of last, and then sprinkle creative growth on top.

Know and Believe, that who you want to be, already exists on some level in Who you are now. The same thing goes for your horse and anything you dream of achieving with your horse.

Avoid creating struggle by trying to hold on to the old or believing that stability is the end goal, it’s not… let go of something old that isn’t working today, make space for something new and don’t get stuck on “pretty good”.

Go for great, it’s entirely possible…

it’s also possible to enjoy growth and have fun even if it at times seems challenging or even hard. If you love what you’re doing even the hard parts are fun.

Remember, it’s not really about the goal, it’s about who you are becoming as a person and a rider in the process.

The only true state of bliss is constant growth and change, I love learning and growing, do you?

Ride with Lightness!
Celie xo