One Small Step

Posted by LeeAnn on January 18th, 2010 at 03:27pm

To successfully get to the championship finish, it begins with one small step. I like to work backwards from where I want to be until I reach today. Really to get to where you want to be it is simply a commitment to one thing today.

When I trained horses for national competition that was going to be held in October, I began with a vision of where I needed the horse and the rider to be. Each week we would work towards reaching just one milestone. For example, it takes 90 days to physically condition a horse working 5 days a week on both wind work and physical development. No, there are no horse sit-ups, but there is horse “leg-ups.”

For a horse that is totally out of condition we might start with 15 minutes. That would look like 10 minutes of warm up, 15 minutes of focused work and then 10 to 15 minutes of cool down. From there we would build until the horse could sustain peak performance for at least an hour depending on what they were expected to do. The idea was to be mindful of not asking too much to start with so that the animal found work fun not punishment.

Discipline doesn’t mean punishment. Discipline means to learn. No matter if it is our body and we need to learn how much stretching it needs or how much movement each week. Or if we need to discover how it feels to write each day. To get to our goals means having a plan, following through, reflecting and adjusting as necessary. It is a process.

In our instant world, we sometimes forget the obvious ….. goals and intentions require sustained attention…. OUR sustained attention.

This week take a moment to reflect. How have the first two weeks of the year been? Are you moving toward what you want or have you slipped back towards the rut?

I don’t believe in motivation, I believe in inspiration. I stay on task when I am inspired and continue to be inspired.

Where do you want to be at the end of this year? Feel that essence. Visualize what that will look like.

Find your sassy YES and stay on track! Work the step that is front of you and trust the process. 52 weeks go by in a flash. You are worth it!

Keep going!

Until next week!

leeann_sg