By its very nature, horseback riding is a very goal-oriented activity. Perhaps you are just now learning to ride, or you’re moving up through the levels, or training a young horse, or developing a fitness program for yourself and your horse. Maybe you are just now saving to buy your very first horse. As a rider, setting goals is an important part of everything we do. Most people drift through life settling for whatever comes their way. Setting goals and living intentionally not only benefits us in our riding, but in our life.
Reason #1 – Goals give us focus.
Goals allow us to begin with the end in mind. Formed correctly, goals provide us with a clear vision of what we want and what steps to take to get there
“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.” Earl Nightingale
Reason #2 – Goals help us measure our progress.
Being able to measure progress is rewarding and will help us see that though we might not be exactly where we want to be, we have made progress. Riding is an activity where it’s easy to see the progress we’ve made. We learn a new skill, our horse finally learns a new skill, we get the score we were working for, or our dream horse is in the barn. All of these things are easy to measure and need to be celebrated! Someone once said, “If we shoot for the moon, even if we miss, at least we fall among the stars!” I’m not sure I quoted that right, but you get the idea!
Reason #3 – Goals help us stay motivated.
It’s easy to put off tasks until tomorrow when there is nothing on the line. If you have a goal of showing in a national show, you know that there is a entry deadline to meet. You know what needs to be done to prepare for the show. Perhaps you needed to raise money to enter and to pay for the trip.
Reason #4 – Goals help beat procrastination.
Procrastination is a dream killer. It’s one more day that you aren’t moving toward your goals. Setting goals, breaking them down, prioritizing, setting deadlines, and being competitive with yourself will keep you on the path to achieving your dreams.
Reason #5 – Goals help us achieve even more.
Achieving one goal often leads to creating another, the next step in the progress towards something bigger, sometimes bigger than we even imagined. When you reach one goal, more doors will open and you will get a taste for more.
Reason #6 – Goals help us determine what we want in life.
The mere act of setting goals forces us to contemplate what we truly want in our life.
To that end, I’ve created a free mini-course called “Focus on your Dreams”. This exercise will help you open your mind to all the possibilities. It will allow you to dream and to narrow your focus on what can be accomplished in 1, 3, 5 and 10 years.
Did you know that a study done by the University of California a few years ago concluded that the mere act of writing down a goal increases the probability that it will be achieved by 42%! This little exercise will help you take the first step in just writing them down! Give it a try and let me know what you hope to achieve in the next year to come!
Enjoy the Ride!
