Sport psychology

The Adaptable Equestrian Trainer

Laura King CHt, NLP, Life & Performance Coach

My how the world has changed. Whatever your experience since the arrival of Covid 19, the world has changed and we have all changed with it. You see, you are Adaptable.

We all learned together, as a global humanity, to wear masks, stand apart, wash our hands more often. We all changed our daily habits. Have you realized how easy it is to change when change is required?

Change happens in every moment. Being adaptable to change is crucial to your success as an equestrian trainer.

Was your barn closed for a period of time? Did you completely redo your schedule and stay in one location? Things you adapted to quickly included tightened barn protocol, redoing your scheduling, no shows. Maybe you learned to do remote training, it all just happened. You didn’t think about it because it had to change. What else can you adapt to without even noticing?

Adaptability is Crucial to Your Success

Last year, you adapted to:

1) A once-in-a-lifetime, seismic shift in the world. 2) Your thinking and behavior changing, at least temporarily and maybe permanently. 3) An altered sense of timing and travel as everyone’s schedule shifted.

And Bonus points for you when:

• You found ways to continue to move forward with what needed to get done. • You realized you needed to do something differently. • You saw an opportunity to create something new or to pivot in a different direction. • Your capacity for adaptability is what separates you from the others.

Meeting a moment with openness and creativity is what leads to success during ordinary moments or extraordinary times. You just need the powerful tool of adaptability to keep you open to change.

Life Was Always Uncertain

People talk about uncertainty these days as if it’s new—as if it came on the scene with the novel coronavirus. The reality is that life has always been uncertain. Uncertainty is the opportunity for greatness.

We never can say what the day will bring, so we need to be prepared for anything. We’ve already established that you have some de-

gree of adaptability, so let’s continue your preparation for anything-can-happen by building on your adaptability tool.

Pendulation

Pendulation is something you can do at any time to increase our capacity to handle everything from minor disappointment to physical pain. It’s a practice that reminds you of your inner resources and uses them to help decrease your own suffering. It’s a resilience practice and resilience is part of adaptability.

The practice of pendulation reminds you that whatever is uncomfortable in any given moment is not your entire experience.

Please read out loud – Whatever is uncomfortable in this given moment is not my entire experience.

Every experience consists of multiples of how you see, hear, taste, smell, feel and think. When your focus is drawn to one thing only, everything shifts.

Yes, you may have a headache and the program ahead is challenging. Which should you focus on? The headache? The challenging program?

What you give attention is what gets attention. I would suggest that you forget the headache and focus on the challenging program with the thought that you will do your personal best today, in this moment.

Any part of your experience, from sound to thoughts to sensations of your body, is simply one part of your experience. We tend to not see it that way. Instead, we identify with whatever the negative is by saying things like: “I have a terrible headache,” or “It is too challenging.”

Self-talk often paints a bleak picture. You can shift that talk by remembering your personal best. Relaxing and breathing into the moment. There are many positive parts to the experience that you can use to shift that negative self-talk. What you say to yourself matters. What you think in the privacy of your own mind matters too.

When you need to change, try this…. Pendulation

Find a quiet place and sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed.

Choose a neutral point in your experience— maybe your hands or your breath - and focus on it. We call this your anchor point. Keep your attention on it.

Now review your body to locate any tension or discomfort. Notice it. Release it.

Breathe. Return to your anchor point. Feel your anchor point.

When something disruptive or upsetting occurs, or you become anxious or worried, or you feel pain or discomfort, go to your anchor point.

Focus your attention on your anchor point.

Focusing on the anchor point, in this moment, ignites your ability to decrease your own suffering by intentionally moving away from it.

Here’s the pendulation part.

You are focused on your anchor point. When you feel relief, take your attention to whatever upset you--the physical, emotional or mental discomfort.

See if you can sit with it for a bit. Perhaps remember the upset in slow motion. See if you can stay in the calm while you revisit the wound.

If it continues to upset you or cause you discomfort, move your attention back to your anchor point.

Breathe. Once you have achieved relief again, you can revisit the upset and breathe through it.

You may need to do this several times depending on how focused you are and the reality of the upset.

Breathe.

Now use your inner voice to bring yourself back to your surroundings with relaxation, and focus on being your personal best.

That’s pendulation. Moving back and forth, from discomfort to calm, until the ebb and flow is integrated into a better calm. A better outcome.

We all have a relationship to change. Maybe yours needs . . . changing. If discomfort arises at the mere thought of change, there’s something you can do about that — Pendulation.

Everything changes, but not everything changes at once. There’s always something neutral in your experience to remind you of your stability and your inner strength to be adaptable. Adaptability is a wonderful tool to be the best trainer – use it daily.

Need help addressing your challenges or achieving your goals? Sessions available in-person, via Zoom, or by phone.

Products: www.summitpress.net Sessions: www.summithypnosis.com email: SummitHypnosis@gmail.com phone: 561-841-7603

About the author: Laura King is the Director and Founder of Summit Hypnosis and Wellness and is a Certified Hypnotist, NLP Practitioner, Life Coach, and Sports Performance Coach. Laura has written and published several books and workbooks, including ”Power To Win” for equestrians and “Perfect Enough,” a guide to help you evaluate your perceptions and experiences around vital areas of your life.