by Anne Gage, The Horse Riding Confidence Coach
How’s your self talk? You know that constant babble that whirls around inside your head.
Is that voice your best friend or your worst enemy? Is it your voice or someone else’s voice that you hear?
How you talk to yourself affects how you feel and what you do.
When you learn to take control of the ‘mind gremlin‘ your horse riding confidence and performance will improve!
And you do want to improve your confidence and riding, don’t you? (I thought so.)
Here are 5 steps to help you rein in the Mind Gremlin.
Step 1 for Better Horse Riding Confidence – Be aware of your thoughts.
The average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts every day. Most of these thoughts don’t change from one day to the next.
And, about 80% of those thoughts are negative!
Most of them focus on the past or the future by:
- obsessing about mistakes you’ve made in the past
- planning ahead or worrying about the future
- making up stories about what might happen in the future
The good news is that when you recognize those unhelpful thoughts, you can change them.
Step 2 For Increased Horse Riding Confidence – Write down your thoughts.
You can’t change what you’re not aware of.
When you write down your thoughts, you see exactly what and how you’re thinking. And you’ll notice how often you’re thinking the same unhelpful thoughts.
Notice how often you use words like ‘never’, ‘always’, ‘should’, ‘must, and ‘can’t’.
Also, notice how often your thoughts are complaining, whining, or judging (yourself or others).
Be careful not to beat yourself up or feel discouraged when you see how many negative thoughts you have.
We all have them. And you’re taking steps to change them, aren’t you?
Step 3 For Improving Horse Riding Confidence – Create a new thought.
Take your most frequent negative thoughts and put a positive spin on them.
For example, if your self-talk tells you “I’m such a loser! I’m never going to get these transitions right!” Remove the judgment and stop beating yourself up.
Reframe the thought to a more positive message like “I’m still learning and right now, I’m having a hard time getting these transitions right. What can I do or who can I ask for help to learn how to do them better?”
Reframing in this way puts the focus on finding the solution rather than on the problem. And your brain likes solving problems!
Step 4 For Stronger Horse Riding Confidence – Become your own cheerleader.
Our brains have a negativity bias. So it seems to be almost easier for us to have negative thoughts, focus on negative outcomes and create negative stories about the future.
But, you can re-train your brain and your thought patterns!
So, instead of focusing on the negative, you’ll focus on the positive possibilities.
And, instead of being your own worst critic, you become your best support.
Treat yourself with the same compassion and kindness you would give your best friend if she were feeling down.
Avoid saying anything to yourself that you would not want another person to say to you.
Step 5 For Creating More Horse Riding Confidence – Practice. Practice. Practice.
The mental exercise of retraining your brain is no different than doing physical exercise.
It may seem challenging at first. And you might not always feel motivated to do it.
But, the more you do it, the better results you see.
There will be days when you won’t feel motivated to do the work of paying attention to your thoughts or replacing them with positive messages.
However, just like learning the posting trot, the more you practice, the easier and more natural it becomes.
And, you’ll feel a sense of pride for your accomplishment and a sense of control over your life.
That also creates an incredible boost of confidence!
The Bottom Line For Building Horse Riding Confidence
Your brain can only hold one thought at a time.
Give it something positive to focus on or a problem to solve.
You can feel better about yourself and more confident – today!
Want more tips on Winning the Mental Game? Click here to learn more and register for the online course.
There are lots more practical and in-depth tips on improving your Confidence and your Partnership with your horse in my book “Confident Rider, Confident Horse: Build Your Confidence While Improving Your Partnership with Your Horse from the Ground to the Saddle”.
Click here to order your copy today!
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You’re welcome to use this article in your blog or newsletter as long as you notify me and give my credit information. ~ Written by Anne Gage, The Horse Riding Confidence Coach (www.ConfidentHorsemanship.com)
Anne Gage has been helping anxious horse riders find their confidence for 20 years. In 2002, after coming off one of her young horses, she completely lost her riding confidence. As she worked on regaining her confidence she discovered that many other horsewomen were suffering in silence – thinking they were alone. Anne now helps anxious horse riders get back in the saddle with confidence, regain their joy for riding and create deeper partnerships with their horses.
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