Day: September 7, 2020

Out of the blue, a voice popped into my head: What’s the best that can happen?

‘The best that can happen?’ I replied to myself, grinning slightly. ‘Don’t people usually ask what’s the worst that can happen?’

The thing was, a while back I remembered feeling a similar wave of bleurgh. Motivated by a clinic coming up that following weekend, I’d hauled ass out to the arena and jumped on for what turned out to be one of my best rides to date.

That ride now safely nestled in the success files of my brain, when the chips were down this day, it was there to remind me.

Not, what if everything goes wrong, but what if this is your sliding doors moment to your best ride to date?

And that, wonderful peoples, is what showing up does.

When you least expect it, it begins to ask, what’s the best that can happen.

And then you pull your hat on and ride.

Onwards.

❤️ Jane

But back to Adele. This is a great example of how we can create a change and then unconsciously undo any of the work we have put in to cycle back to the place we were before. I’m completely making this up for the point of discussion, but let’s say Adele picks up the paper and reads that headline. Consciously, she might brush it off, but underneath it niggles at her. If she is is more heavily geared towards pleasing other people than herself, she might inexplicably find herself reverting back to her “old ways” and not really understanding why she is doing so. This is the internal tension that’s created between two different ideas or states of being; one where she finds the way she looks currently linked with the possibility that she is no longer going to be accepted or liked. You can see how things might start to unwind, even if it doesn’t make sense on the face of it.

I see examples of this all the time. Someone starts to get ahead in their riding, change up some behaviors, or feel better about themselves and their horse. And those changes create friction in their peer group. Before long, they find themselves cycling back and they don’t understand why. These are very real examples of how easy it is to disengage from taking action on things that are important to you if they challenge the status quo and the connections of which you are a part.

Social pain is real. Change creates kickback. It’s important to factor that into your understandings so you can be aware of any internal resistance you feel in response to that and separate out what serves you and what ultimately needs to be left behind.

Onwards.

❤️ Jane