Why isn’t he moving?” A very frustrated Jake* asked. I replied, “because he knows you don’t want to be here”. This happened when a group of moms brought their teenage sons for a session at H&PP. The other young men did great when it was their turn, but Ace would just not move for Jake.
“My mom forced me to come, I don’t want to be here” Jake said. I nodded and said “I totally understand, but how about we leave mom out there and you be here with Ace? Give him your attention and we’ll see what happens?”
I’m sure you can guess what happened; as soon as Jake decided to try, a shift happened, and he and Ace got along splendidly. What started off as a troublesome session ended up being such a wonderful experience.
I thought about it for the rest of the weekend and found the lesson; if we approach situations half-assed, we will get half-assed results. Horses are so amazing to call us on our mediocrity! Humbling and exhilarating at the same time.
With horses, you can’t lie about your intentions. You can’t fake your motivations. And they won’t pretend along with you to help you save face. Humans could also be more in-tune with others’ emotions than we often consider. Think about a time when someone you knew was clearly uninterested or unmotivated to complete a task you asked them to do. They may have still done the task, but you knew their heart wasn’t in it. Now, think about a time you’ve given that same energy to a task asked of you. They probably knew you weren’t into it.
In work and in life, you get what you give. We can’t give 50% and expect to receive 100% back. Can we try to approach every situation with full effort; choose to be present in the moment? Choose to try?
*name changed