WORK HARD !
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Martha ’ s Comeback - Cont . From P . 4
ment . It was probably the worst accident I ’ ve ever had .
Josey was watching in the stands . When they held up the rodeo he thought it was the horse coming in and not me because he knew Red Man was safe .
At that time , the EMT ’ s were passing a tube into my lung . I ended up with two cracks in my skull , seven broken ribs , broken right hip and another concussion . I only came to when I was in hospital . My first words when I came to in the hospital were “ Get me out of here - I ’ m up in Baton Rouge !”
This happened in March at Austin and I still wanted to make the National Finals Rodeo . My mind was on “ Go , get ready ”. My first comeback run was in July at Greely , Colorado and we made it to the short go .
To get ready for that there were exercises , therapy and I had to make myself go beyond the call .
I guess I haven ’ t always done the wisest thing , but through all of these injuries and layoffs , I learned a lot about returning to competition . The keys are :
-You ’ ve got to have the desire to do it . You ’ ve got to want it bad enough . There are no “ cant ’ s ” It ’ s mental . You ’ ve got to see yourself coming back and not think about not getting it done .
-Come up with a plan for getting yourself back in shape . Realize that you ’ re not who you were before physically . You ’ re not as sharp as you were when you quit .
- Even in bed , exercise what you can . Usually stretching and squeezing the ball . When the doctor would come in , I wouldn ’ t wait until he would ask me to move , I ’ d say “ Look - I can do this !”
-Then the next step for me was walking . After I finally got out of the bed , instead of sitting and reading , I ’ d think “ I ’ m going to walk , walk to the barn , walk to see my horse , walk and look at my trailer ”. It ’ s about anything to do that gets your mind thinking there are things to do .
-Never talk about what is wrong - none of that “ I ’ m sore and I ’ m sick and what has gone on ”. Do talk about what you ’ re getting ready to do and what you have accomplished .
-My thought then was “ I ’ ve got rodeos to get to ”. You need to keep that sense of urgency , thinking , “ I want to heal now ; I don ’ t want to lay around and wait until I heal ”.
-Your body needs all the help it can get – it ’ s not a time to be eating twinkies and drinking cokes . You need the best nutrition of your life plus good vitamins and nutrients
-It ’ s easy to gain weight during a layoff , so don ’ t let this happen or you ’ ll have more to accomplish to get back .
When you get to the point that you can get on your horse again , make sure you ’ re going to be on a horse that can give you confidence . If you get on a horse that scares you you ’ ll set yourself back more . If your main barrel horse has too much go and is intimidating , find a horse that will be comfortable – a roping horse – maybe your old horse - something you ’ ve got confidence on . And do as much riding as you can possibly do in the arena and out . This will begin to make it comfortable again .
Broken bones will heal . Broken minds needs to heal too . If you ’ re coming back and you ’ re scared about falling off or getting hurt , you will have to gain strength and confidence . It ’ s mental as well as physical . When you ’ ve been riding a lot on the comfortable horse , start on your regular horse and every day go further , longer , faster . When you get comfortable on him , find that favorite rodeo you want to enter .
After my last accident I wanted to go to Greely , Colorado . It was a rodeo I like and I have great pictures from there .
When you ’ re there and you ’ re entered up – at the rodeo , see your rodeo friends and everyone is asking how you ’ re doing after your terrible accident , just tell them , “ I am fine , I ’ m back where I was .” Don ’ t let yourself dwell on everything that went wrong .
You need a horse you ’ ve got confidence in . I was fortunate in all the accidents I had that I had three different horses in three different periods I could get back on and send them . You need to know you ’ ve got yourself mounted on a horse you can trust .
There are times in your life you have to realize that the horse you ’ re riding is not giving you confidence . That means you are not a team . That ’ s why it is always good to know how to identify the kind of horse that you like to ride .
The mistakes I see people make that prevent them from coming back are first , not having enough want-to . For some it ’ s finding an excuse in case they fail and then getting caught up in that excuse .
Some don ’ t get back into shape mentally and physically – because they didn ’ t go back to the basics at first and build their confidence . Others don ’ t have a goal . I ’ ve always been very goal oriented . Setting goals is so important . Do more every day . Don ’ t quit working at it if it doesn ’ t happen the first time . Just keep going over those basics and work to get it right .
Your horse had a layoff too and it might take a few runs to get your timing together . Keep believing you can
Stay around positive people - people who help you remember “ You can ,” not “ You can ’ t !”
WORK HARD !
If you want to be a winner , you don ’ t have to be the smartest or the most athletic or the most experienced . All those attributes are helpful and important but the one sure and simple route to success , regardless of your talents , is to work harder than everybody else .
Don ’ t ever forget that a dream comes true for someone , somewhere every day . Realizing your dream comes from concentration and hard work . Do something every single day to bring you closer to your goals . At the end of the day , you are that much closer to your goals .
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For questions , e-mail Cheryl Cody at cheryl @ pro-management-inc . com
Coming in Next Issue :
• How to create your own Pre-Competition Ritual
• Martha Josey ’ s Pre-Competition Ritual
• What ’ s the Message in the Music ?
• Steps to developing a winning mind set !
• Guest Column with Carol Rose And Much More !