trials riding can be . It didn ’ t matter that at the day ’ s end I took third out of three , I felt like I ’ d done well for being so new to the sport and I basked in the praise being offered forth by others . I love praise . I love compliments . The enneagram type 3 in me lives for accomplishments that make those around me look on with pride or admiration .
There is danger in feeding so intensely off of achievement and external validation . When you ’ re trying something new it is very likely that you ’ ll fall flat on your face at some point in the learning process . You will not always “ achieve ” by the standard definition of the word . That is , quite literally what happened to me on day two of the trial .
I started out strong , cleaning my first two sections and thinking to myself ,
“ I got the hang of this !” But things started to go downhill as I found myself making mistakes over and around obstacles , while simultaneously watching seven year olds perfectly maneuver the same obstacles . The doubt and frustration quickly set in . Tears pricked against my eyes . Daniel could sense something was wrong , but I felt that if I opened my mouth to explain , then the flood gates would surely open . So I pushed on through the sections , my performance getting progressively worse .
When all 12 sections were complete , I quickly rode myself back to the
VOL . 6 ISSUE 12 - DECEMBER 2021 // PAGE 125