Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas! As the year is coming to a close, it’s time to start thinking about everyone’s favorite thing – New Years Resolutions! Okay, but seriously how many of us actually keep our resolutions? I don’t even plan on making any this year because I know they’ll last for 2 days tops. Lets face it, I love chocolate (and food).
I do, however, have several goals that I am wanting to accomplish this coming year: I’m hoping to get a patent for a design I’ve been working on, I have a young grand prix prospect that I’m wanting to have doing the 1.20m’s by the end of the year, I am wanting to start a breeding operation (I have step 1 done already – I bought a mare!), and I am hoping to get some of my long term project horses sold for a nice chunk of change. The list goes on and on but these are my big goals for next year!
If you’re like me, you probably get a little bit anxious thinking about everything you want to accomplish whether it be for the day, month, or year. A little anxiety can be good because it keeps you motivated, but too much can be crippling and then it’s time to find ways to deal with it. Over the years, I’ve found a few tips and tricks to help me deal with my anxiety so that I can continue to have big dreams and reach them!
Tip #1 – Make lists!
I can’t tell you how much I love making lists and how much they’ve helped me to keep my mind calmer. Literally the first thing I do when I wake up is make a list for what I need to do today. It helps me stay more focused and it’s pretty rewarding to get something crossed off the list! I know that sounds silly but I promise it’s rewarding. I make lists for everything now. I have a whole notebook full of lists for what tack I need to get, what my short term and long term goals are, what horse shows I want to attend, etc. Lists are awesome and if you haven’t discovered them already I encourage you to give them a try!
Tip #2 – Exercise
Whether it be going for a quick walk or a 5 mile run any form of exercise is good for the mind and body. Exercise releases endorphins that trigger a positive feeling in the body meaning that any anxiety will be gone at least for a little while after you finish your workout. Plus, running will help strengthen legs and I don’t think I need to tell anyone twice about the benefits of strong legs with riding horses!
Tip #3 – Keep working
A friend posted something on Instagram years ago and I don’t remember the exact words but it was something like “The best way to treat anxiety is to keep working” and it’s stuck with me ever since. I’ve had days where I just get so anxious that I can’t get myself to do anything but as soon as I do start doing something my anxiety goes away. This kind of goes back to what I said about being able to cross things off the list – it’s so good for the anxious mind to feel like things are getting done.
I genuinely hope these tips will help anyone like myself, so that we can continue on accomplishing anything we wish to! I hope you all have had a great 2016 and have an even better 2017. And if you make New Years resolutions, I hope you last longer than I ever have!
Until next time,
Stephanie
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