How self-reflection improves your riding
Whether in everyday life or when riding, everyone experiences challenging situations every now and then. Things that trigger us emotionally or things that can’t be solved straight away. It these moments, we have learned to check in with ourselves first instead of just looking for answers on the outside. Reflecting on your own thoughts, feelings and actions brings clarity and calmness. This is what self-reflection is all about.
Self-reflection simply means to consciously engage with yourself, to become aware of your own thoughts and feelings and to analyse your motivations, behaviors, values and their impact. This allows you to discover new perspectives and understand what drives you, blocks you or allows you to grow. It is particularly helpful when you want to solve problems, develop yourself further or whenever you need new inspiration. How we see ourselves and how others see us can differ greatly. Especially in your partnership with your horse, it’s worth taking an honest look at your own behavior.
Remember: You are always the first part of the solution, your environment comes second.
Change of perspective allows new insights
In order to better assess situations, it can be helpful to mentally take a step back and try to look at yourself from the outside. We always experience situations and actions from our personal perspective and react accordingly. We perceive them through our own personal lens. But how do other people or your horse experience the same situation?
You will have certain expectations as to how your own actions and communication are perceived by others – your own reality. However, this may look differently to your counterpart – person or horse. Behavior can always be interpreted differently. What seems a certain way and crystal clear to you can have a completely different effect on others.
Horses are particularly sensitive to the smallest changes in mood, body language or energy. They often reflect our inner self more directly than people. This is why it is so important to analyse not only the horse’s behaviour, but also your own: What am I sending out? How do I come across? And how is my communication perceived? Jessica von Bredow-Werndl emphasizes: “Regular self-reflection has a huge influence on my whole life. My inner self creates my outer self. The horses mirror me. The longer I work with them, the more honest the mirror is.”
Abundance instead of scarcity mindset
Self-reflection does not mean to constantly analyse your mistakes or failures. Rather, it is about finding a good, healthy balance. What’s already going well? What do I wish for? What potential can I still develop? How can I achieve my dreams? It’s about creating an abundance mindset – about shifting your focus from what you lack to what you already have and feeling grateful for it.
But how do you manage to maintain this balance? Jessica sums it up: “It’s practice! The most important thing is awareness – ideally even in the challenging moments. We always have the choice to focus on what is already there or on what is still missing. The trick is probably to see problems not as problems, but as challenges to grow. To feel and find joy in finding solutions and development. In this way, challenges are no longer problems, but the start of growth. In riding, I make the fastest progress by not focussing on the weaknesses but instead co-develop any weaknesses through working on our strengths.”
How to practice self-reflection
You can practise self-reflection – step by step. This is a really great exercise to start with:
“How would somebody, who followed around for a week, describe you in one or two sentences?”
There’s a lot in that question. What would the person observe? How would he or she perceive you? Who are you in that person’s eyes? Take a few minutes to think about the answer!
Here are a few more questions that help you to better understand yourself:
- What do I stand for?
- What is important to me in life?
- What (unfulfilled) wishes do I have?
- What principles and values do I follow?
- How do I want to be perceived by others?
- What strengths do I have?
- How and what do I want to communicate?
- How did I behave in the saddle during my last training session?
- What did I miss when something didn’t work?
- What did I enjoy most about my last success in the saddle?
- What am I proud of?
The goal is not perfection, but awareness. Consciously reflecting on the current situation, being aware of yourself, setting realistic goals and actively shaping the way to achieve them – whether in everyday life or when riding. Self-reflection is a process that leads to more inner peace, presence and is always an opportunity for development. If you are prepared to be honest with yourself, you will be surprised how much it can change – in your relationship with your horse, in your riding and in your life.
Curious to go deeper?
Self-reflection is the starting point, but real transformation happens when you consciously practice it over time. If you want to explore more strategies to develop a resilient and positive mindset – both in the saddle and in life – take a look at our blog section