If you’re like most people there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to make a New Year's resolution this year . . . and if you’re like most people there’s also a pretty good chance you’re going to have a really hard time hanging onto it past the beginning of February!
We all have good intentions in life, but sometimes life gets in the way of our good intentions. One reason many people struggle keeping New Year’s resolutions (or achieving any other goal for that matter) is that life can sometimes be very distracting. Staying mindful of our goals is, therefore, one of the most important factors in determining whether or not we’ll achieve them, and that’s where resolution-reminders come in.
Resolution-reminders, also called mental triggers, work by giving you timely reminders of the things you’re hoping to remember. After all, if you can remember them, there’s a much better chance you’ll keep doing them. One of the best ways to do this is to link your goals to things that occur often in your life. For example, taping the note, “Health not hot dogs” on your refrigerator (and another on the hot dogs inside) is a great way of reminding yourself that you're making an effort to eat healthier this year. In this way, the note does two important things: first it's a reminder, and second, it's a motivator.
Resolution reminders also come in the three other common forms. Below are examples of these different triggers, each one of them designed to help a rider overcome show jitters:
Interestingly, resolution-reminders are a part of a larger mental coaching technique called classical conditioning, automatically conditioning yourself to do things like smile every time you hear the bell, repeat a motivating mantra every time you enter the start box, and take a deep breath every time you put on your boots. The idea behind this kind of mental conditioning is that, with a little time and practice, you’ll no longer need to try and remember to do these positive things, your brain will actually just link the sounds, locations, and movements to those actions automatically… meaning you’ll no longer need to remember to do them at all, because they’ll happen without you even thinking about it!
In the end - and in the beginning of 2020 - always remember that your goals won’t work unless you do. You just need to remember what means the most to you!
I wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year and hope you’ve enjoyed my 2019 monthly tips. I also hope to see you in one of my 2020 riding clinics or training camps around the country. For more information visit https://pressureproofacademy.com.
The USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) 2021 Team Challenge calendar is now available! This new program was announced in October 2020 and so far there have been over 60 teams register and 18 team challenges added to the 2021 calendar.
There are currently 34 FEI events on the U.S. Eventing calendar for 2021 with the first taking place in mid-March. While all national events in the U.S. follow the USEF Rules For Eventing, international events follow the FEI Rulebook.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
In a difficult year for the sport of eventing, it was volunteers like James (Jim) Newman who helped many events stay afloat. Through www.eventingvolunteers.com, Newman recorded a total of 292 hours and 51 minutes of volunteer service in 2020. Newman’s dedication to the sport amidst a pandemic earned him the top spot on the USEA Volunteer of the Year Presented by Sunsprite Warmbloods leaderboard.