Had a great night with a few gal pals, and the discussion came around to horses and horse life and various people within the horse world. And what kept coming up again and again was the idea of people thinking that they knew it all. That they didn't have to listen to advice from anyone because they already knew how to do it. And how it was a very misguided way of thinking, because you NEVER stop learning.
With horses, think of the top competitors. Most, if not all, have coaches and trainers or at least an eye on the ground when they are getting ready for a competition. Olympic Show Jumping team has coaches, and these are people at the TOP of their game.
Take a look at the great masters. Like... of anything. In horses, to continue said theme, there is always something more to learn, either in your same discipline, or by diverging into others. Even the top trainers are never perfect. And you keep going until you die. Hiroshi Hoketsu was the oldest competitor in the 2012 Olympics, at the age of 71, competing in Dressage with his 15 year old mare. You would think that the age and experience of over 50 years of the Equestrian Pursuit would allow him to be pretty darn near perfect. He received a score of 68.72 (out of 100 for those who don't know), placing 17th out of 25.
The highest score ever received in Dressage was a 92.30, and even that was seen by many as controversial for many reasons, which means there is still definite room for improvement, and that's the world record by a horse and rider who are at the very very top of their game.
Ok, enough horses. Let's look at something more mundane. History. Say you want to be an expert and master of a specific town, a specific time period, and even a specific family. You can know a LOT. You can devote your entire life to learning about theirs... and you will still never know everything about them. You can know a lot, a whole lot more than other people, but you will never know everything.
In more classical training methods, whether that be in art, a craft, a job, etc... you apprentice underneath either an average worker or a master. You spend YEARS apprenticing before you become mediocre, or even workable. VERY VERY few become "masters", and even they can be showed up by something new or simpler or whatever by their students or even by another "master" of their craft.
And yet... that's the beauty of it. How boring it all would be if you could learn everything... and then you're just stuck with all of that knowledge, and nothing else to do. There is excitement found in opening your mind a little wider, in finding a new facet to a gem you've studied for years, to growing.
Progress should be encouraged, and desired. And if you are proven wrong, it should be something to rejoice about. Not get upset over. Getting proven wrong is a part of learning, and just means that there is something even better out there.
So... why wallow in the same place? Why tell yourself and others that you already know it all, or act like you know it all? All that does is hinder yourself and your talents. And why would you want to do that?
With horses, think of the top competitors. Most, if not all, have coaches and trainers or at least an eye on the ground when they are getting ready for a competition. Olympic Show Jumping team has coaches, and these are people at the TOP of their game.
Take a look at the great masters. Like... of anything. In horses, to continue said theme, there is always something more to learn, either in your same discipline, or by diverging into others. Even the top trainers are never perfect. And you keep going until you die. Hiroshi Hoketsu was the oldest competitor in the 2012 Olympics, at the age of 71, competing in Dressage with his 15 year old mare. You would think that the age and experience of over 50 years of the Equestrian Pursuit would allow him to be pretty darn near perfect. He received a score of 68.72 (out of 100 for those who don't know), placing 17th out of 25.
The highest score ever received in Dressage was a 92.30, and even that was seen by many as controversial for many reasons, which means there is still definite room for improvement, and that's the world record by a horse and rider who are at the very very top of their game.
Ok, enough horses. Let's look at something more mundane. History. Say you want to be an expert and master of a specific town, a specific time period, and even a specific family. You can know a LOT. You can devote your entire life to learning about theirs... and you will still never know everything about them. You can know a lot, a whole lot more than other people, but you will never know everything.
In more classical training methods, whether that be in art, a craft, a job, etc... you apprentice underneath either an average worker or a master. You spend YEARS apprenticing before you become mediocre, or even workable. VERY VERY few become "masters", and even they can be showed up by something new or simpler or whatever by their students or even by another "master" of their craft.
And yet... that's the beauty of it. How boring it all would be if you could learn everything... and then you're just stuck with all of that knowledge, and nothing else to do. There is excitement found in opening your mind a little wider, in finding a new facet to a gem you've studied for years, to growing.
Progress should be encouraged, and desired. And if you are proven wrong, it should be something to rejoice about. Not get upset over. Getting proven wrong is a part of learning, and just means that there is something even better out there.
So... why wallow in the same place? Why tell yourself and others that you already know it all, or act like you know it all? All that does is hinder yourself and your talents. And why would you want to do that?
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