So you’re telling me there’s a chance?!?!?!

So, Jim Carrey did a movie called Dumb and Dumber. Maybe you’ve seen it? It’s pretty well known. 

Anyway, in the movie, Jim Carrey’s character, Lloyd, is crushing hard on Mary. As you can imagine, Lloyd is a homely, unsophisticated guy, and Mary is beautiful. You wouldn’t expect them together. 

Well, eventually Lloyd asks Mary flat out if there’s any way the two of them could be together. Mary wants to let him down easy and evades the question, but Lloyd pushes her to give her the odds about what his chances are with her. 

“Not good.”

“Like one out of a hundred?”

“More like one out a million.”

Mary feels awful that she has broken poor Lloyd’s heart. 

But Lloyd, while disappointed at first, thinks about this for a minute, and then smiles. 

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”

Now it’s not much of a chance, but it’s a chance nonetheless. He is gleeful, and happy because he is not out of the running yet!

Now, why am I recounting to you moments from classic 90’s movies?   

Because as riders, we so often determine we’ve lost before we’ve even entered the arena. 

And yet, gap toothed smile and all, Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber is showing us a great example of perhaps the number one skill any of us can have in life, let alone as riders. 

The world can be harsh and unforgiving. I write this during winter and the weather has indeed been harsh and cold and unforgiving, let alone the fact that there are billions of people on this planet and most don’t know or care about you and your unique situation. 

So in the face of an uncaring world, you need to care. You need to believe in yourself. 

And Lloyd shows you the way. 

You’ve got to think selectively. He could have focused on the 999,999 chances where he doesn’t get the girl. But why? Would that help him? No. 

So instead, he focuses on the 1 in 1,000,000 chance he does have. 

It’s a small chance, yes, but it gives his optimism, and his hope and enthusiasm a direction. And it makes him feel good!

And when ya feel good… well, you’re ready to press on despite enormous odds!

So, let me ask you: as a rider and horseman, how’s your mental filter?

When you think back on your last ride, what do you focus on? Do you focus on how it took a little less pressure on the reins before your horse softened in the face? Do you focus on how your horse stood quietly for you to mount up when he shuffled around last time. 

Or do you focus on how you’re still getting stiff at the lope. How you’re still having a death grip on the reins. Naturally, you and I both want you to improve those things, but by focusing on your mistakes and not your successes, you prime your mind and body to expect more of those things. And you beat yourself up. 

How well do you think your next ride is going to go when your body is primed to expect you to mess it up, and your mind thinks there’s no way it’ll go your way?

Food for thought, my friends. 

Always believing in you!

Happy Trails,
Nicole Burnett 

Mental Coach to Western Riders

PS- I am SO EXCITED to be developing The Confident Rider! You are going to flip! It’s step by step exactly how to build your confidence as a rider for unshakable performance and killer runs!  

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