Charting The MAP | RES 038

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

This week I’m using a little acronym to explore the different ways we go about charting our path through horsemanship, and life in general: MAP. Each letter addresses an aspect of one’s attitude. They can be used to self-reflect on where you are in your journey with your horse. Using them to see where you are, accept where you are, and see where you want to go can help you avoid wandering around aimlessly. Basically, they are a three step program to finding your way to better horsemanship.

Key Takeaways

You must accept where you are in your horsemanship. Think of it like looking at a large map. You need to find the big red X that says “You Are Here.” This comes down to being aware and being honest with yourself about your abilities and knowledge. Otherwise, you will have no idea what direction to go in. And it’s okay if you don’t know what you don’t know. But you have to recognize that, faking things won’t get you anywhere.

Accepting where you’re at doesn’t need to be a judgment of your value. Where you are can be perfect for the here and now. But you don’t have to settle for that. Once you’ve accepted where you are at then you can look forward and start making plans. Where do you want to go? What path do you want to take to get there? It’s okay if you don’t have a perfect idea of how to achieve your goal. You just have to start making steps forward.

All of this starts with empowering yourself. You have to accept that you alone have the power to change. You have the power to move forward, backward, or do nothing at all. But it all comes from you. Many people like to complain about where they are at and wallow in their excuses for why they are stuck. But I always end up asking them what they plan to do to change their situation. You are not a tree, you can move!

Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone. New experiences are how you and your horse can grow together. Even if you are a little nervous, you never know how much fun something new might be. And if you don’t enjoy doing something that’s great too. Now you know what path not to go down and have a better idea of where to go forward.

Stopping to think about where you are and where you want to go isn’t just a way to improve your attitude about your journey. It’s more efficient too. Think about if you were at a large convention and wanted to find a single booth. You could walk around with no direction for three days and hope you come across the booth. Or you could look at a map, see where you are, and where you need to go to arrive where you want to be.