Driving Forward with Your Horsemanship Goals in 2010

Every time a new year rolls around, it's a chance for us to reflect on the progress that we have made, or not, in the previous year and set new goals and dreams for the year to come.  We write a long list of things to accomplish for the coming year and post it on the fridge.  But by the end of January, that list is hidden under grocery lists, 'honey-do' messages, and cookie recipes.... and once we find the list again, we're just so frustrated that we give up.  Or worse, we decide to take another shot at it, and let it slide all over again anyway.  Statistics show that by January 15, 90% of us have already given up on our new year's resolutions.

Don't let this happen with your goals.  Whether they are horsemanship, personal, business, financial, relationship... whatever your goals, set yourself up for success instead of failure.  Here's a few tips:

Set Yourself Up for Success
Don't make goals like: lose weight, become a better rider, attend more clinics or take more lessons.  Be specific.  "Become a better rider" is entirely too general... but "be able to maintain my seat and canter around the arena for two laps without losing my balance by November 4" is more concrete and attainable.

Break Your Goals Down into Steps or Stages
This is easily applied to any resolution.  If you want to attend more clinics, which clinic will you attend in March?  April?  May?  Instead of resolving to lose weight, decide to work out for 20 minutes each day for two weeks, and then renegotiate with yourself.   Momentum is your greatest friend when it comes to achieving goals.  Keeping small steps helps you see incremental progress, which helps keep you motivated.

Be Accountable
This one is great!  We can decide in our head that we're going to accomplish something, but we'll lie to ourselves and make up excuses about not getting things done.  Once you've decided on a goal and broken it down into smaller increments, tell someone that will hold you accountable.  You're liable to work harder to not disappoint someone else than yourself.

Checkpoints for Celebration
As part of being accountable for your goal, write in certain days on your calendar to check in and review your progress.  Check in with yourself and with your 'accountability partner', see how far your coming along with your goal, and celebrate or reevaluate as necessary.

With a little practice and persistence, you'll be driving full speed ahead with all of your goals in 2010, and enjoying the journey to accomplishment.

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