Over The Oxer

Are your emotions from you or from your gut?!

There are so many gut-related sayings: gut feelings, trust your gut, gutted and so on. But is our gut actually governing our mindset? Are the bacteria in your gut impacting what you think and how you feel much more than we expect?
 
It strikes me as astonishing that the bacteria in our gut are responsible for a huge array of neurotransmitters and that 90-95% of our serotonin is found in the gut. How does this change our mood? How does it influence us? Are our thoughts ours or do they belong to our gut bacteria?!!!!
 
www.traceycolenlp.com
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The Negativity Bias

Why do we remember the errors, mistakes and hiccups after a ride far more than the positives?
 
Why can we recall negative comments, insults and hurts more easily than compliments and praise?
 
Why do we still cringe when we think about an embarrassing or humiliating experience?
 
Because our brains have an in-built negativity bias! We're very natural negative nellies. Can we override this factory default setting? Yes, of course, and here's how.
 
www.traceycolenlp.com
 

Motivation - keep it for longer!

How do you keep going? What gets you motivated? Can you sustain motivation or are you better at starting something and then your interest wanes?
 
Motivation can be elusive, but it doesn't have to be. Motivation to ride can drop off for reasons we can all sympathise with - bad weather, coming back after a break, perceived lack of progress etc.
 
On the latest Over the Oxer podcast, I'll give you some tips on how to engage your brain in keeping you motivated. Besides having big goals and stepping-stone-goals, I talk about how to keep your brain wired up for motivation!
 
If you're enjoying my podcasts and would like me to include a certain topic, do let me know! info@traceycolenlp.com
 
www.traceycolenlp.com
 

Motivation and Drive

Motivation and drive - sometimes you have them, sometimes you don't. Your personal motivation could come from your inner voice or could be from a feeling that spurs you on. However, drive is subtly different. It's the energy that propels you. It's what keep you going when the chips are down. Without drive, motivation is more down to will-power and that can drop off easily. Imagine now, though, that drive keeps you going - with or without motivation - drive is the powerhouse - want to know how to get it? Tune in! 

Dislike of people watching - help’s here!

Many riders do not like being watched or having the feeling that someone is watching them. Now I could tell you that most observers aren't actually watching you and that even if they were, they'd be in your corner, but that wouldn't cut it for you, would it? So we need to tackle this with a totally different approach. And here it is! Get your brain in gear and you'll no longer care about those watchers!

The Mandela Effect - do you do it?

You remember Darth Vader saying, 'Luke, I am your father', don't you? Do you really remember that? Really? 
Did you know that our memories are almost always inaccurate, distorted, generalised and possibly the last thing you'd want to rely on?!! What happens if your self-doubt, self-limiting beliefs and anxieties are based on those memories? 

The narcissist on your yard

Dr. Susan Krause Whitburn said, 'Narcissism is a distinct belief in one's own exceptionalism', which I think is brilliant. It really sums it all up. People who show certain traits or come show certain narcissistic behaviours are usually obsessed with an idealised version of themselves and often this is embellished, it's a grandiose image of themselves and they feel a need to sustain that image.
So anything that feeds into that image and glorifies it a bit more, that's what they love. And anything that diminishes that image, that's what they hate. If you can help them to sustain the image, they'll use you!
Now what can we do about these people on our yard who display this type of behaviour?

The cause and effect equation: do you want results or reasons?

The cause and effect equation is a simple concept, yet ever so powerful once you start to use it. Want better results? Want to feel more resilient? Want to feel less swayed by others? Then this is for you.
 
Being at cause means taking back control, being in the driver's seat and being less influenced by other people and events happening around you. The opposite is being at effect. This is giving up all your control to other people, things and events around you. This is disempowering and gives you lots of reasons and excuses, but few results.
 
 

An interview with mindset and energy coach Chantelle Jennison

Chantelle Jennison, founder and owner of Double Clear NLP, works with equestrians to remove mindset blocks and enhance riders' communication and connection with their horses. She uses a blended approach - from NLP to Time Line work and Reiki. 
After finding that her relationship with her own horse improved vastly after learning Reiki techniques, Chantelle was delighted to find that her ridden work also improved massively. Her bond with her horse deepened significantly and she wants to help others to have the same bond with their horses and enhance their riding.
 
Visit her website at 
https://www.doubleclearnlp.co.uk/

Are you a leftie or a rightie? It can affect your calmness level!

Did you know that 
 
left-handers are able to perform better under pressure and
right-handers are generally less scared?
 
On this episode, I take a look at these things. How can we all take advantage of the differences in brain organisation, so it doesn't matter which side of our body is more dominant? What can we do to keep calm and draw on our training, even when under pressure?

Hakalau -and getting into the zone

Hakalau is a technique borrowed from Ancient Hawaii. It's perfect for riders, as it only requires that you are in peripheral vision. Whether you're looking for 
calmness,
being centred,
feeling more in the zone,
better 3D awareness,
or a problem-solving technique,
Hakalau pretty much does it all! Here's how to do it.

How to focus on your focus - Part 2

On my last podcast, I talked about focus and why it's important that we're aware of where we place our focus, since we need to make that focus narrow, broad and external or internal. 
This episode is all about how to get focus, maintain it and re-focus after a break.

Focus on your focus - Part 1

Equestrian sports require that we focus on what we're doing(!), however, is that focus better when it's more internal (in your head) or external (your outside environment)? Is it best to have a narrowed-down attention or a broader one? This is the first of two podcasts about focus - the next one will look at refocusing and how to stop focusing on things we don't control or shouldn't affect us.

Hypnotise me confident!!

As hypnotherapy for riders gains ever more interest, here's my take on what hypnotherapy really is (it's not what you think) and what it's absolutely not (again not what you think). I'll debunk some myths that have been around since the Middle Ages and still linger in the 21st century. And just how could hypnotherapy help you?

Overthinking

Thinking, thinking about thinking and overthinking - does that describe you?! If so, it's a habit you can kick, find out how on this episode.