I’m sure you’ve heard the metaphor about “getting back on the horse.”
We talk about “getting back on the horse” as if it’s just one step. Any step can be broken down into its components, and this is no different.
Before you get back on the horse, what do you do?
The Process of Getting Back on the Horse
(1) You stand up and dust yourself off.
(2) You check your body to make sure you didn’t injure yourself, and you tend to any wounds.
(3) Perhaps you take a moment to catch your breath and clear your mind, so that you don’t get back on the horse while still thinking about how you fell off.
If you’re focused on how you fell off, you’re likely to fall off again.
Thinking about the fall makes you fear falling again. And if you’re afraid, the horse will know.
If you’ve ever ridden a horse, you know: the horse always knows. (I’ll save the discussion about this for another time).
(4) In addition to clearing your mind, you’d also be wise to shake your body out, to “get it out of your system.”
We don’t usually talk about all the steps, but this is what we mean when we talk about “getting back on the horse.”
There’s another part we don’t talk about much when we talk about getting back on the horse.
When to Not Get Back on the Horse
As important as it is to get back on the horse, it’s just as important to know when not to get back on the horse.
Maybe the horse can’t take you where you want to go. If you’re trying to cross an ocean, getting back on the horse isn’t going to help you.
The Horse in Life
The same process applies after any fall, whether off of something or just “falling off track.” If we don’t pause to dust ourselves off, tend to the wounds, clear our minds, and shake out our bodies, we will carry the wounds from our fall forward with us.
If you don’t clean out your wounds, they get infected. It’s not pretty. Those uncleaned wounds will eventually sabotage us down the road.
What Leaders Do Differently
In my study of leaders, high-achievers, and other people who do great things, I’ve noticed many common practices. One of the things they do is that even if they haven’t fallen off the horse, they stop periodically and get off the horse.
They pause to check their destination and their map, dust themselves off, nourish, and check on the horse.
They make sure they know where they are going, how they are getting there, and that they are taking the best vehicle to get there.
Get Back on Your Horse. Or Not.
At the beginning of this year, you got on a horse, heading to a destination.
Maybe you fell off, and it’s time to get back on. If that’s the case, you want to make sure you’re clearing your wounds and getting back on consciously.
Maybe you fell off and you really need to choose a different way to get to your destination. If that’s the case, it’s important to know this before you get back on the horse.
And maybe you’re still riding, but your destination has changed and the horse won’t be able to take you there. Wouldn’t it be helpful to know that before you continue down the path you’re on?
Even if you’re heading to the same destination and the horse can take you there, it’s helpful to pause and double check. Maybe there’s a better route.
Join Me for a Mid-Year Check-In
The events of the first half of 2020 have impacted everyone. Even if you’re still on the horse, you may have some wounds that need cleaning. Your destination may have changed, or the roads may have changed. You may need to get off the horse to get where you’re going.
Join me on Saturday for a mid-year review (click here for more information).
We’ll dust ourselves off, clean out the wounds, and shake out the effects of the first 6 months of 2020. Then you’ll be able to get back on the horse, or not, with clarity and focus, so you can navigate to the right destination.
[…] week, I wrote about the common expression to “get back on the horse,” in which I observed that if you get back on the horse while still holding onto the story of how […]