The Surprise of Feedback

In addition to helping my clients recognize and seize their potential, I also work to do the same with my horse Usache as we train in the art of dressage. Since training horses is not my profession, I seek expert guidance from my trainer, Marie Morgan of Solstice Farms.

In a recent lesson learning a movement on the ground we had never done before, I asked for Marie’s feedback. “Are we doing the right thing for Usache? This is an upper level movement and I don’t expect to ride this movement for another year or two.” Marie looked squarely at me and said, “I don’t want to hear you say that. He is ready for this and so are you and you could ride this right now.”

I was dumbfounded. Shocked. Usache and I ready to do an upper level movement at this stage in our development? Well yes, indeed we are. Had I relied only on my linear way of thinking (levels 1, 2, 3 and so on), our progress would be steady, but slow. Yet using a tool from the upper levels will speed our progress, enhancing his learning and obviously mine.

So what did the coach learn from this? The big eye-opener was the fact that I had erected barriers to our progress by my linear way of thinking. The second was that by asking for feedback, I had the chance to learn far, far more than simply a movement in the lesson.

What can you learn by asking for feedback? How could you move more quickly up the levels by working with an expert?

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