I gave up New Years Resolutions decades ago. Goals however have reappeared with annual frequency. I have been pondering what my goals were for 2019 and I came across a post from fellow blogger Keith Haney of “The Light Breaks Through” that struck a chord with me. He has chosen a word. Just one word. He has set his sights on one word to define the year ahead. “That is what I am going to do.” I said to myself.
What would the word be? My mind pondered several possible words. Then one word came through with absolute clarity. COMMIT. I chose commit, a verb, rather than the noun of commitment. I felt my word needed to be active, imperative !
HOW WILL THIS WORD INFLUENCE ME?
I have chosen the word commit for my riding, training and competition with my horse Biasini. I am certain most of my friends and family would say I was a person who is committed to my horse and my riding. And they would be right. But the word commit takes me a step farther.
- Every day riding and training I will commit to riding with complete focus and always be asking: is this good enough? am I quick enough? do I need to repeat that and improve it?
- Competition. Biasini is always good in the warm up on the first day of a show and I forget how he is as a “show horse” once we get into the ring. Then we get into the ring, after I have been lulled into la la land, and BOOM Biasini the ‘show horse’ turns up. He is not spooky or naughty he is just very, very, strong and I find myself left behind and struggling to catch up and get through the test. The next day I have to pull myself out of a black hole, do it again and this time…. get it right. This year I will commit , on the first day, to riding the “show horse” in the warm up ring . I will commit to letting him know we are going in the ring and we are going in as a partnership.
- I will commit to riding with courage and go out to the end of that skinny limb. Take the risks. I’m not talking about doing something stupid or dangerous. I am talking about having the courage to make a mistake and carry on! This word commit will be my intention and influence for the year 2019.
How about you? What word encapsulates your goal or goals for 2019? Let me know in comments below.
HorseAddict 
I’d love to hear from you!