How Did It Go vs How Did It Feel?

A big little thing that makes all the difference not only to how I evaluate my training sessions but also in my ability to stay anchored to the moment and keep running my own race…

I’ll come at this in a slightly roundabout way. Usually, when I finish riding and come into the house, my husband will ask me “How did he (or she) go?”. Not an unusual question, and one that we might be asking ourselves or each other all the time. The “problem” with it, at least in my experience, is that it tends to produce quite reductive answers that expand on some variation of good, bad or ok.

Asking instead “How did he feel today?” creates a whole different reflective experience. When I consider how he felt in the session, I detach myself from a pre-occupation on results and think directly about the process.

Thinking about the feeling he gave me leads me to consider how it is I went about balancing the energies presented in the session.

When I think about how he felt, I consider the connection between us, the level of responsiveness, the softness in my hand and to my leg, the relaxation.

Considering how he felt and using that as the point of consideration makes me reflect on the benchmarks that really matter and ask myself what it is that I would like to improve on for next time.

The big little things that make all the difference.

Onwards.

❤️ Jane