08/03/2023
Those of you who follow my Stories saw that I recently attended my oldest daughter’s show jumping competition.
The weather was blistering hot, each morning we had to be up and driving at 5am and our days were long, dusty and exhausting….all for 1.5 minutes of thrilling jumps over fences.
What made these 5 days even harder and longer for me? I am NOT a horse person. I appreciate them and I am an animal-lover in general, but there is a definite difference between horse people and non-horse people 🐴😂
Here are my 3 main takeaways that I wanted to share with you if you, like me, find yourself in a world surrounded by people that you don’t have much in common with.
🟡 It’s OK if you don’t want to talk.
I am usually the main talker in a group setting and I have no problems leading or steering a conversation. However, because I’m not well-versed in the horse world, I realized that I don’t need to talk all the time. It’s ok to be an active listener, and try to follow along with the main conversation. Or, it’s also ok to bow out of some conversations and bring out your book and just have some solo time without any interaction. It’s totally fine!
🟡 Ask lots of questions.
I know this can be challenging for some people, and it really takes practice, but this is what I generally found myself doing over the course of the 5 days. Instead of talking to the other parents about their horse, I focussed on other topics that I COULD converse about. Such as “what do you do for a job?” or “are you originally from the Okanagan?” or “so other than horses, what else keeps your family busy?” This would springboard into other topics that I was more than happy to chat about and our conversations were very enjoyable!
🟡 Be kind to yourself.
It’s so important to not get down in the dumps if you aren’t making fluid and easy conversation all the time. It’s hard! Just stay positive, friendly and open and this will make it easier to engage with others in conversation. Don’t be so hard on yourself if you find yourself struggling to speak 💛
Want to learn more or work with me to overcome conversation barriers? DM me today! 💪🏼💛