Champagne + A Cowboy Comeback Story!
I feel like no matter what I tune into (podcasts, shows, meeting new people, etc.), I always come across something that aligns with how I see the world and the messages I desire to share.
I listen to a handful of podcasts that range in industry and intent, yet the conversations consistently lend themselves to astute observations around self-healing.
I unexpectedly attend a champagne luncheon in Fredericksburg and the co-owner of a new bubbly bar called Six Twists explains that she named her bar Six Twists because every time you open a bottle of bubbly, you untwist the wire cage six times, where her intention is to frame the “unwinding of the six twists” around setting your intention for a future manifestation and releasing it to the universe when the bottle pops opens (so cool!).
I flip on the Cowboy Channel and catch an interview featuring number two ranked professional bull rider, Josh Frost, where he’s talking about the mental game required to comeback from making it to his first NFR in 2019 after bucking off all.ten.bulls.
(NFR, aka National Finals Rodeo, is a 10 day rodeo, where, each night, the top 15 competitors in each event compete to determine the final standings for the year…it’s the Super Bowl of rodeo).
His first NFR…a feat in its own as only the top 15 money earners in each event make it to this rodeo…and he bucks off all ten bulls. Talk about a major challenge to your confidence!
Add on the fact that most who guys who make it to the NFR and buck-off all ten bulls generally don’t make it back and you have a mental mountain to climb.
Put yourself in this position regarding anything you desire to pursue and achieve…
You work your tail off to get to the upper echelon of whatever you’re pursuing and then once you’re in the final pursuit of that journey, everything falls apart.
How do you handle this?
Do you let getting bucked off ten bulls at the most elite rodeo of the year (insert the equivalent in your personal pursuit) define where you go from there/what you’re capable of achieving?
Or do you draw a line in the sand affirming to yourself that getting bucked off ten bulls (or equivalent) will NOT define what you’re capable of achieving and get to work on climbing that mental mountain?
What do you believe about yourself and what you’re capable of doing from this point forward?
What are you willing to emotionally risk by continuing the pursuit?
And do you temper your goal based on what’s occurred or aim higher?
Josh could have set his goal to simply make the top 15 again and return to another NFR, but he set his sights higher…to come back and leave as a world champion.
Could you do the same? Could you take what occurred, see the mental mountain that lies ahead and AIM HIGHER?
This is often what life asks of us when we encounter obstacles, set backs and other frustrations along our journey, yet most of us adjust our sights, goals, beliefs—and ultimate outcome—based on evidence of what’s occurring, instead of faith in what can occur.
Those who are playing at the top of their game (in any area of life) do the opposite.
They’re stubborn in their self-belief.
They’re stubborn in their faith.
They’re stubborn in their determination.
They’re stubbornly against listening to what is in opposition to their goal and vision for what they desire.
The following year did not go as Josh planned when he got stepped on by a bull early in the 2020 season costing him a lengthy hospital stay after having surgery to remove his spleen and part of his pancreas.
The injury not only physically slowing him down but steepening the mental mountain ahead of him.
Yet despite these obstacles, he came back in August of that year (the season ends September 30th) and moved from 100th in the world standings to 17th, missing the NFR by a few thousand dollars.
He makes it back to the NFR, in 2021, in fifth place, with a goal to finish in the top three in the world standings and win the average (i.e., win the 10 day rodeo).
Bucks off the first bull, which, of course, triggers the memory of the ten buck offs in 2019.
Nerves get ahold of him, but he draws on his mental game to get his mind under control before it spirals into something unmanageable.
Bucks off his second bull.
This is where the rubber meets the road. He has to get his mental game under control, something he’s been working on for the past two years.
He knows he can ride at this elite level—that’s what got him here.
He leans into his mental came, collecting himself for Round 3…and gets it done!
Bucks off in Round 4.
And then rides his next SIX bulls, winning the 10th round!
He rides 7 out of 10 bulls at the NFR (a great ratio!). He has redeemed himself!
He wins the ten day rodeo and ends up Reserve World Champion in the overall standings!
I was so impressed with his comeback story and the power his mental game played in it.
Whatever your personal goals and desires are, when you encounter obstacles, set backs and other frustrations along your journey, remember to…
Be stubborn in your self-belief.
Be stubborn in your faith.
Be stubborn in your determination.
Be stubbornly against listening to what is in opposition to your goal and vision for the desires of your heart.
Be willing to aim high when fear is shouting at you to temper your pursuit.
Be undeterred by the evidence of what’s occurring and completely faithful in what can occur.
Always Shine Brightly,
Shanna
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