Team Flying Solo Challenge: What's your 'can'?

Eventer79 from Team Flying Solo posted last week about how she's evolved in the psychology of her riding and training - and how, despite all the cliches, 'positive thinking' has helped make a difference - and put more 'can' in her canter.

I kinda loved the post - lots of good tidbits in there - but especially at the end when she challenged readers to pick a positive for the next few weeks for our own riding, then check in later to see what happened. 

Never one to resist a good challenge, I decided to use the following for my positive goals:

• I will sit up tall and straight through my core - with lifted belt buckle and open shoulders

#needswork

• Legs (and knees!) will stay long and down - with toes pointing forward

oldie but goodie (esp bc I still do this...)

The real challenge, honestly, will be doing both of these things simultaneously haha. 

But the beautiful thing about riding Isabel is her incredible sensitivity. When I can get myself properly aligned and riding from a more correct position - she effortlessly follows suit.

So these points need to be at the top of my mind as I trot down the center line to ensure we put in our best possible test. 

This challenge is timely bc our first dressage test of the season is in just less than 2 weeks, and I would love to beat our previous best score (39.0). Hopefully approaching these goals with a positive attitude will set us on the path for success. 

What about you? Did you read that post? Any goals or ideas spring into your mind too?