Plans and goal setting
We can’t believe it’s nearly the end of January already! Perhaps that’s a good sign, that the time in this third lockdown will fly by and before you know it, we will have sunshine, longer days and be able to see loved ones once again?! We’re keeping everything crossed. We do hope that all our followers and customers stay safe and well and that the vaccination programme offers a light at the end of the tunnel.
In the meantime, how can we all stay busy and focused? Of course, some of you will be flat out juggling home schooling, working from home and running a household, in which case simply surviving each day is more than enough. Others are working relentlessly on the frontline fighting Covid-19 and risking their own health for other people – thank you so much if that’s you. For other people, the social isolation of lockdown or being on furlough (and all the fear that brings) is making life hard. If horses are your outlet and stress relief then the muddy ground, freezing weather and lack of horsey competitions isn’t helping.
It’s tough not knowing when lockdown restrictions will be lifted, but that doesn’t have to stop us setting goals. By setting yourself some targets for the months ahead you’ll give yourself structure and purpose. For example, they might be riding related, such as teaching your horse flying changes or travers, or connected with your job, home, personal fitness or business.
But just setting goals is only the very start of your adventure! And they can seem a little bit overwhelming at this stage…To make them more achievable, each goal you set can be broken down into smaller, easier to manage tasks. This is especially important for any goal which involves your horse or your own fitness – it wouldn’t be wise to head out for a 5km run if you haven’t run further than 20m since school. That’s why a ‘Couch to 5k’ programme breaks the training down into lots of stages! Make sure you give you and your horse enough time to learn something new. Plus, having lots of smaller tasks means that you can tick lots of small wins off your list, which is a brilliant mood booster.
It won’t surprise you to hear that, here at Elevator, our goals are all based around the development and launch of new products. Our founder Jo spent the first lockdown quietly testing a new bridle design, which is now very close to being launched. It’s the next stage in the evolution of the Elevator comfort bridle, designed with the comfort of the horse or pony at its core. What will be the fruits of her labour during this lockdown? We’ll let you know as soon as we can…!