New Year, New Goals

I did have goals at the start of last year – they were pretty vague goals, but goals nonetheless. So, let’s see how I did!

Horse goals:

Figure out what’s going on with Amber: I am quite happy that I can cross this off! While the news was certainly not the best, and she’s been officially retired, at least I KNOW what’s been bothering her.

Get back to work riding Amber: For obvious reasons, this did not happen haha.

Keep Amber healthy and happy and healing: I am going to cross this off. She’s healing, I know she’s not completely happy but still doing well, and laminitis notwithstanding she is quite healthy. She’s even putting on her winter pounds, which I’m not sure how considering I’m not feeding her any more than her assigned 18 lbs LOL.

Personal Goals:

Put even more/better energy into work: While I still need to do more, I do consider this a success. I certainly put more in this year than I did last year, and it’s all about progress – baby steps! (And yet why is it so easy to be like “little steps; progress with horses isn’t linear” and yet for me “how dare I not improve 110% all the time, all year” lol so it’s a success!)

To be a better/fitter person/rider: This is a meh, so I’m marking it as half complete. I do believe I’m a better rider for my lessons, but I am not fit like I should be. Riding guys like George and Lit certainly helped my fitness, but as to going to a gym or just targeting weak groups of muscle – that was a massive fail haha.

Funds permitting, have 2-3 jump lessons a month – or if funds not permitting, at least 1 a month: I got started with this late in the year, but I still think of it as a success. Counting all of them, I’ve had 10 lessons, so personally, I think I did it! It evens out to almost 1 a month, and starting September I did have 2-4 lessons a month, so it counts to me! lol

Spend more time with friends: I did! Not as much as I was hoping, but I still did make time for more friend get-togethers – not to mention I flew to South Carolina to spend some much-needed time with my Grandma and relatives.

For 2019, it’s really going to be more of the same:

• Keeping Amber healthy, happy, and (knock on wood and cross your fingers) on the road to recovery
• Continuing with lessons, funds – and now school – permitting
• Fitness (this will probably never not be a goal, and this will probably always be a hit or miss kind of thing for me LOL)
• Putting more energy into work, now with school so I can learn new things! (And, consequently, doing WELL in school haha)
• Time with friends
• And of course, keeping up with self-care. Which means one or two of these may disappear for a time, but self-care is quite underrated. Thankfully, I don’t have as hard a time ensuring I take time for myself now as I have in the past, but sometimes things just happen all at once so you’re bogged down for a while

These are purposefully vague. If I get too specific, I find I either tunnel in on the details and lose sight of the big picture, or even the thought of it feels overwhelming and I avoid it like the plague lol. For me, the vague goals still give me a sense of direction for the year, but it doesn’t feel constricted. I feel that I can still have my eyes ahead but I’m not so focused that my peripheral vision can’t see potential opportunities.

As it stands, I’m on the way to starting off January with a bang on the lesson front – I have a lesson with Trainer G on Saturday and Soxie is my ride again! I gifted my mom with a riding lesson for her birthday, so we’re going to have a “group” lesson on Saturday with her riding Rocky! We’re both very excited. Hopefully, I’ll be able to have a lesson with Trainer M next Wednesday provided the horses are all healthy and good to go.

2019, here we come!