An Attitude Adjustment

Since the adult clinic I’ve found myself thinking a lot about my attitude. Jane Savoie’s first lecture was all about the power of positive thinking and the “laws of attraction.” I walked in as she was describing a person she calls the “stinky thinker.” A stinky thinker is basically a person who points out the negative in every thing and bitches endlessly without even attempting to find a solution.

*gasp*….I’m kinda like that

I’ll readily admit to being a glass-half-empty gal. I am most negative about myself, especially my riding and my looks. Here are some of my greatest hits:

“Oh I’m such a chub!”
“I would completely humiliate myself if I stepped into the show ring.”
“I’m not a good enough rider.”
“I can’t halt worth a shit.”
“I haven’t gotten Dobby as far as he should be.”

Reading over this now, it sounds so awful! I’ve made a tremendous dark cloud over my head. No wonder I’m lacking in confidence when I promote this negativity in my own mind. Sheesh!

Savoie advised all of us to let negative people, or their negativity, drift by like debris in a river. In her lecture she pointed out that when we’re at a picnic beside a river we don’t reach into the river to pull out garbage drifting by put it in our purse, and take it home. Savoie encourages us to do the same with the people/energy in our lives. We shouldn’t let our downer friends and their endless “drama” drag us downstream.

And furthermore if you, yourself, are that downer perhaps it’s best to change your cruddy attitude, lest you continue to drift down a polluted river into the ocean where you and the rest of your environmentally unsound negative pals kill oceanic wildlife! I’m taking this polluted river metaphor further to demonstrate the cumulative nature of negative thought. If you let it, negative attitudes can contaminate your entire sense of self, and erode away your confidence. It might even stifle you from making positive life changes.

I may not agree wholly with the physics Savoie used to support her assertion that we all vibrate good and bad energy. (The Law of attraction: What vibes/energy you give out with your attitude determine what energy you attract back). I do, however, 100% agree with the notion that a positive attitude will take you farther in life than a negative one. I also agree a negative attitude will only serve in making the achievement of goals much more difficult.

Why should we act as our own enemies? Why would we want to repel possible allies (friends) with a crappy attitude? Who will support the downer? Isn’t this sport difficult enough without creating your own mental obstacles?

I was very pleased by the end of Savoie’s Saturday morning lecture. I am glad that Savoie is traveling the country delivering her message about having a positive attitude. USDF has made a wonderful choice in Savoie as their spokesperson for adult dressage riders.

We can probably all agree it isn’t only the DQs, but society in general, that has become more negative in recent years. It is so easy to be snarky. We all do it. Let’s all try to reduce it, just like we try to reduce the pollution in our rivers. Think of your negativity as a form of pollution contaminating the space we all share.

I realize this post has very little to do with dressage, and perhaps it could find a better home elsewhere. I wanted to post it here for a reason. So often in my life I find that horsewomanship makes me a better person. Dressage enhances my life both in and out of the barn. The adult clinic is another example of this phenomenon.