Wednesday, October 19, 2011

How to Achieve the Unachievable

"I believe in miracles...

Where you from...

You sexy thing..."

Ok - so yes, I am starting this article with a song, but I want to look at achieving the unachievable. I constantly love reminding myself that there is no reality, except for the one I create, so nothing is unachievable unless I decide to believe it to be so.

So this month, I wanted to explore that concept, and see if you can take some of these principles into your riding.

Has anyone seen the movie called 'Miracle' starring Kurt Russel? It came out in 2004 and it tells the story of the miracle of the US Olympic Hockey Team beating the Soviet Union and going on to win Gold at the 1980 Olympics.

For the US to beat the Soviets was truly a miracle at that time. It was unachievable - the Soviets had won four consecutive gold medals from 1964-1976, and were going for their fifth consecutive gold medal in 1980. In 1979 The National Hockey League All Stars played the soviets and lost 0-6.

The US team on the other hand, were untested college students. At an exhibition match shortly before the 1980 Olympics the Soviets played the US team and beat them 10-3.

No one believed the US team could beat the Soviets. Nobody, except a man by the name of Herb Brooks. Herb believed they could beat the Soviets and Herb believed they could win the gold medal. And.... they did.

So how do you achieve the unachievable:

1. Be creative

Herb realised that everyone was trying to beat the Soviets by playing a certain style of game... and it wasn't working! So to beat them, he would have to create an entire new style of playing. He innovated, developed and installed a completely new strategy that was based on extreme conditioning, discipline and speed - his players struggled to learn and master this, but they did, and thanks to Herb's creativeness and thinking outside the box, they won. So be creative in your riding - just because you have always done it 'this' way doesn't mean it should always be done that way. New thinking equals new results. What new ways can you be creative in your riding?

2. It's not all about talent.

Herb did not pick the most talented players for his team, and there were many more talented players on the Soviet team. But Herb knew that talent is only part of the puzzle. He was looking for players who would be part of a team, who would embrace his new methods, and stand up to the demands. This is good news! Riding is not about talent. It's about thinking. It's about working with your horse. It's about so many things, the least of these being talent. So don't worry if you don't have the 'ideal' body type, or find it challenging to master sitting trot - with the right thinking and training, that will all be overcome.

3. Know that adversity inspires!

Herb just missed out on playing in the gold medal hockey team of 1960. But he used that to drive his determination to win a gold as a coach in 1980. Fate had disappointed him once, but he was not going to let himself be disappointed again. He was going to do whatever it took to get the gold. In riding you will miss out, you will have disappointments, and you will have setbacks. WE ALL DO! Believe me! But the only thing that matters is how you use the disappointment - I use it in the same way as Herb - to motivate me to be even better than I can possibly be. How do you manage disappointment? A better question is - how will you handle disappointment now, after reading this?

4. You have to have a MASSIVE goal!

A goal that inspires and even scares you a little bit! When I look at my goals I giggle - I giggle, because they are the most outrageous, insane, HUGE, crazy, brave, sensational goals I have seen..... Great! You can't get excited about a small, insignificant goal. You set a goal to brush your teeth and you do, weeh yay, whatever. But a big goal, a scary goal, a goal that is monumental... well that just gets you going! You jump out of bed in the morning, and stay up late, you do crazy things, and have crazy thoughts, and at the end of the day... you have your goal.

So is your riding goal - outrageous? Bill Gates says don't even bring me an idea unless 3 people have laughed at it. Then I know it will be worth looking at. My measure is as long as people still think I am crazy... then

I am right on track!

And finally

5. You need buddies!

Success is not the results of you alone. To achieve the unachievable you need a team of people coming together for your one goal. Who is part of your team in your riding? Your vet, farrier, coach, horse - they all have to work with you towards the one goal.

To Your Riding Success,

Natasha Althoff-Kelley
http://yourridingsuccess.com/
Visit my website for your free ebook on "How to Achieve Lasting Riding Success"


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