Trusting the process (and being a little bit off topic)

I've recently been writing a lot about Knots. While he has been in the picture for over two years, he never featured much in the day to day goings on, because I tried to focus the blog on Jellybean. Obviously the blog has evolved a bit over the last couple of years, and now I try to make an accounting of my general horse activities.

In that vein, I have been spending a lot of time working with Knots since Sarah and I discussed riding goals for the year. I have been feeling really patient and we have made some progress. I haven't been in any hurry, and I am really excited about every tiny improvement I might feel every couple of weeks. I am especially grateful for every little improvement when I am unwilling to make the time to ride everyday. Jellybean is the same way. She is still very green and I don't really think of her as a grown up horse. However, she always surprises me with her intelligence and general willingness. And I am very happy!

Onto another facet of my life, I am overweight. I have spent some time focused on calorie counting and eating healthier at different points of my life, but I often become discouraged when I reach a plateau. Then I drop my routine and climb back to where I was located prior to my efforts. This has happened a few times, even when I was doing really great until I wasn't.

How are these connected? Its the same trust in the process. With my weight loss, I expect and need instant results. With the horses, I am willing to wait however long it takes them to understand the lesson at hand. This article clued me in on the idea. Why am I unrealistic with my goals, but extraordinarily patient with my goals for the horses?

This is a really interesting through track, and I will definitely be thinking more about it. If you have some thoughts on this quandary, feel free to leave something in the comments!

Jellybean looking good after a jump school