I have been lucky enough to have horses most of my life. Somehow I managed my childhood Idaho horse phase with the sum total knowledge of: right, left, stop, back. It was a high energy, cowgirl up, "which way to the rodeo" style of riding.
But as the years and I progressed, I learned that I can actually slow my horse by simply taking a deep, relaxing breath. Relax. Shoulders back. Chin up. Eyes forward. Amazingly, this huge animal feels the subtlety of your gaze. Where you look, your horse will go.
I can't think of any sport or activity where your coach recommends that you keep looking behind you. Or that to reach maximum potential you should keep looking side to side to see how others are doing. In lifecoaching we call that "compare and despair." Nothing drains your energy quicker than comparing yourself to others. And, man alive, if I could have the time back that I've spent dwelling on the past, I think I could live to be 120.
So here we are. Lucky enough to have another day.
Are you looking back? Regretting things that happened in your past? Let them go.
Looking side-to-side? That just leads to worry. As Aileen Norton Swift says, "worrying is like praying for what you don't want."
So let me ask you: where are you focusing? Is it the direction you want your life to go?
Take a deep relaxing breath.
Shoulders back.
Chin up.
Eyes forward.
Where you focus, your one amazing life will go