It’s the ultimate form of learned helplessness, the scientific name is thanatosis. People call this ‘playing possum’ too, because opossums do it (they enter into a catatonic state that resembles death) and it’s widespread in the animal kingdom.   It’s not hard to see that it’s a great adaptive behaviour if you’re sure that your […]

I had a call with Sarah (not her real name), who was suffering from anxiety, anger, frustration and most of all, shame. A shame that reached back into her childhood and seemed to grab her at unexpected moments, taking her back to thoughts of her upbringing.   As a child of parents who were traditionalists, […]

Anxiety is a warning from your unconscious mind that you’re focusing on the things you don’t want to have happen. Often, you’re running a programme in your head where worse case scenarios unfold. To be aware of this warning is very useful, as we shall see.   The triggers of anxiety could stem from a […]

As an equestrian business delivering lessons, how can the business continue during uncertain times and lockdown? What about times when the weather is atrocious? Horse or rider have been through injuries and are working through rehab?   When lessons don’t run   Cancelled lessons are often unavoidable, yet lessons cancelled at short notice are the […]

‘Mental toughness’ is often confused with someone who pushes themselves to extremes, for example, someone who breaks a bone and carries on with the competition. That’s not what’s meant here. We want a bullet-proof mentality that we can lean on in tough times and continue to hold a positive attitude.   When you’re mentally tough, […]

Optimism is part of mental toughness and the latter is much-misunderstood term. Mental toughness is the outcome, the attribute that you enables you to feel that you can overcome any stumbling block, any down-turn and shake it off. You know that if you dwell on the negatives, they will loom larger and larger in your […]

Affirmations appeal very much to one type of learning/memorising style. That is, those people who are auditory digital and that’s only about 10% of the population. These people learn best when something makes sense and has been done in a logical step-wise manner.   The other 90% comprises 40% visual people (preferring to watch how […]

In the 2020s, we try to multitask. Our phones and devices tempt us unwittingly to have a messenger conversation, take a look at our Facebook notifications, listen to some music, all whilst watching a favourite television programme!   Most people do this automatically and think that it is quite normal and think of it as […]

Here are some common ways that riders encounter mental health issues and how to reduce them.   1. They seek perfection. In a competitive environment, results can mean everything. Perfection comes in two forms; one is a healthy striving for your best, the other is a compulsive need to adhere to the details, to the […]

Nobody else on the planet offers this board accredited 4-certification mindset training for equestrians and riding coaches/instructors. Being the only trainer of equestrian NLP and other modalities in the world is amazing!   I became qualified at Practitioner level in 2013, initially for my own interest and not to use professionally. I could see the […]