Today I’m annoyed

Lockdown 2.0. I’m mad about it. Sort of. I completely agree that something should be done, I understand this is an impossibly difficult decision. I am so sad for all the small business owners and everyone else impacted (us included). But today I’m simply mad because I don’t have a horse in the U.K. currently and riding schools are having to shut.

Its ridiculous and childish I know, but I’m letting myself be annoyed today. Tomorrow I’ll be positive, but not today. I’m sad for the lessons I’d planned and hacks I was looking forward to, selfishly it really is my happy place. However, I’m also sad for riding schools that need regular business to survive.

It’s healthy to be annoyed, frustrated and upset. Personally the best way to cope is to give myself an allotted amount of time to feel that emotion and then pick myself up after. This works for me and I believe it’s important for us to all have coping mechanism’s in place for our mental (and physical) health. We’re all so different, this could be talking to someone, writing it down etc, however we should all have a way to ‘feel’ and ‘live’ these emotions so we can properly experience them and let them go. Do you have an emotional coping ‘plan’?

Fingers crossed this lockdown won’t be extended too much and we’ll be back doing the activities we love asap. I’ll certainly be off on horseback the second I’m allowed!

HK x

How to stay Motivated day to day

I work from home. I have a puppy. I have riding lessons a few times a week. I run a home, meaning I cook, I clean – a lot and everything else that needs doing. I have a fitness regime. I am busy.

So I have to be productive and motivated in order to get the most out of my days and my life.

Lists

I put this first because honestly it’s the only way I get anything done. My moto? How can you expect your day to plan out well without a plan. I have a daily list and a weekly list. I make my daily list each morning or the evening before and ensure some of my weekly tasks are on there so this gets ticked off too.

Bribe yourself

Sorry not sorry.

It can be as simple as once I do this peice of work I will make myself an iced coffee. Or more luxurious such as once I learn how to do this I will book on to do this event or buy myself those new gym clothes etc. Rewards and bribery – super motivational!

Diary – Goal setting

My diary is my life. It’s how I remember everything, how I plan and set my goals. It has a super awesome page for reviewing the end of each month. This I use along with my lists for day to

Just get up and go!

Wake up early (if it suits your lifestyle) and get those everyday jobs out of the way and done! Empty the dishwasher, make your bed and get dressed asap. Trust me, it frees up your day and sets you on a fantastic path for just getting things done.

Believe in the process

Whether it’s getting lifting that next weight at the gym, a promotion at work, jumping higher jumps in riding or just being able to master a chocolate souffle. Believe that practise makes perfect, you have to master what level you are currently at in order to progress. Do not be put out if that takes time, it will just make it all the better when you do reach your next goal.

To me, the key is being happy and enjoying the process, enjoy and respect where you are at now. If something is going to take a year to learn then if you start today it will be complete in a year, if you never start then it will never be complete.

If it’s really not working look to why, is it that you need some outside help or advice? Are you not enjoying what your doing? Is an outside influence causing you too much stress?

Mindset

This is a biggie. Happiness and motivation are not destinations, you have to be happy and enjoying your life everyday, we only have so many days on Earth. While some days will suck and everyone has parts of their life they don’t enjoy, set yourself up for success and happiness. Believe you are worth it and it will happen.

I hope some of these hints and tips help you get the most out of your day! Follow my instagram or watch my youtube for more!

Instagram | @harrietkristina

Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBfirw6B6FK3CjbXyrYqBSQ

Vlog: First ever!

I made a vlog! So don’t judge my filming/editing etc, it is very much my first attempt. It’s much harder than it looks. I had a pretty chilled day, just riding and hanging out by the pool before starting my work. But wanted to see what I get up to? Go watch 🙂

Hope you enjoyed! Give my youtube a subscribe and instragram a follow (@harrietkristina)

Vlogging is strangely addictive and editing is fun – much harder than I expected. Time to get learning! Who doesn’t love having to learn a new skill.

Riding: OMG I Cantered (and didn’t die)

I turned up to the stables on a Monday morning to have my usual private lesson, it went really well, practised my rising trot and even a little sitting trot (I’m like five lessons in). When washing off my beautiful horse my riding instructor asked if I’d like to help collect the horses after a trail ride that had gone out that morning, I’m a yes girl, so I said yes.

We drove down and collected the family who had just had a wonderful stroll through the countryside to the beach on horseback. They were as happy as could be and couldn’t stop saying thank you. Then they were in awe as they watched two of the horses be let free and gallop back to the stables. They then got in there air conditioned taxi and headed back to their hotel.

At this point I was mounted and luckily in control of my horse so he didn’t follow those galloping into the distance. We set off walking back up hill with the odd trot, which I was super happy about (getting in that practise), then my riding instructor asked how I would feel cantering a little up the hills (darn me being a yes person). So off we went….

Bloody hell this is fast

My sunglasses are definitely going to fall

My bones might shake apart

I’m not falling off though

THIS IS AMAZING

It was scary but so amazing, I trusted my horse and as my instructor loves to say ‘went with the horse’. The hack back was insane, beautiful and incredible fun, we walked on long reins, trotted and cantered up hills. We made it back in about 45 min (it was a two hour walk down). It made my Monday!

The more time I spend around horses and in the saddle the more I want to be, its turning into quite an addiction. Anyone tried a trail ride while on holiday? What did you think?

As always please go follow @harrietkristina on Instagram for more 🙂

Riding: Update 1

When did you last set an achievable goal? When did you last actually achieve one of these?

Because I JUST DID and I’m so happy.

I normally fear setting goals as when I don’t manage to hit them it makes goals become so uninfluential and easy to ignore. I am most definitely guilty of setting goals that are too big and too hard. Having recently started riding I decided that all I really wanted to be able to do was to be confidently walking, turning and trotting. Well in my riding lesson yesterday there I was trotting in a circle :D.

I am fully anticipating being awful at my next lesson, but for now I’m super happy!

My next ‘baby goal’ is to be confident with rising trot on three different horses.

More general update is that I’ve got a block of ten lessons booked in and a hack when I’m in the UK in May. My stables are already hinting at leasing me a beautiful Palomino #i’vegotthebugsobad called Candance.

As always please do follow or check out my instagram (@harrietkristina)

Riding: The start of a journey

Horses have always been a love of mine, I was fortunate enough to have lessons and attend Pony Camps as a child, as a teenager I rode sporadically, normally borrowing a friends horse for a hack, but nothing structured or regular. So now that I’ve got some spare time and needed a hobby to fill this up with (I’m just not a Netflix binger), I’ve naturally migrated back to ponies.

Don’t worry, I’ve ordered boots and more suitable clothing!

I am a beginner, past remembering how to hold the reins, I seem to remember very little about riding, and this is oh so very humbling, its also the best fun! My love and enjoyment while riding has definitely not changed. I wake up excited the mornings before my class, enlightening a memory of me waking and getting dressed at 5 am thinking this would mean I would get to go riding sooner at the age of six.

I’m four lessons in and making some good progress with my posture and trot as well as tracking up and post lesson baths for the horse. I may have already booked in my next ten lessons and a few treks :).

If you’re think about starting something new, or revisiting a childhood hobby, all I can say is do! You wont regret it. Life is about experiences and memories, about enjoying and trying.