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Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

I ran into an old friend at a horse show last week. He was showing at fourth level and was struggling with consistent, clean flying lead changes. He was embarrassed about it but asked for advice anyway. I was flattered that he’d ask me for help.

I explained that timing was everything in lead changes and in life. The key was making sure he listened to his rider’s commands and changing his hind legs at the moment he felt the cue. If he or his rider waited too long, or started too soon, he’d miss his chance to do the change correctly. He thought about it and realized he was hesitant to change because his rider’s command was a bit wishy-washy and unclear. That moment of hesitation made it impossible for him to do a clean change.

How often do we hesitate to do things we want to do? Sometimes we’re not sure what action to take. Occasionally we wait for someone else to tell us what to do. Sometimes we’re afraid of failing. Often it’s the scary unknown consequences of our actions that make us pause.

There is power in boldness. Charging ahead in spite of being unsure is one way to create a very satisfying life. Of course, there’s always the chance you might make a mistake or fail, but failure is not always a bad thing. Learn from the failure and move on. The only time you’ve truly failed is if you don’t even try.

What would you do today if you knew you couldn’t fail? What would happen if you did fail? Is it worth the risk?

Love, Moshi

From Indy:

Dogs and cats aren’t supposed to get along. I suppose in the wild we’d be competing for food, and that might make us enemies. But I love cats. Some of my best friends are cats.

My dog friend Stubbs told me I was stupid for liking cats. That really hurt my feelings. For a couple of days I stopped saying “Hi” to the barn kitties, trying to be more like other dogs. I even chased the old gray tabby across the driveway and up a tree. Tabby was surprised and hurt that I would do that. I was secretly ashamed, but I wanted Stubbs to think I was as tough as he was.

Jane took me aside and asked what was going on. She knew I liked cats and couldn’t figure out why my behavior toward them had changed. I put on a mean face and told her I was a wolf that ate cats for lunch. Then I growled my deepest wolf-growl. She paused, staring me in the eyes, and then started to laugh. That made me laugh too. I realized I was being ridiculous. Jane told me I could pretend to be a wolf if I wanted to but asked me not to lose who I really was. She loved me for ME, not who Stubbs thought I should be.

Laughter is a great way to defuse a tense situation. If you can find the humor in a conflict or upsetting event, you’ll completely change the energy around it. Laughing releases tension in your body as well as your mind. Laughter truly is the best medicine, especially if you can laugh at yourself. Give it a try!

Love, Indy

Jane Savoie
1174 Hill St ext.
Berlin, VT 05602
Jane’s Website
DressageMentor.com

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