You Can Choose

March 6, 2026

Every thought you have and every feeling you feel is telling you something.

Nothing is random.

Your habits, reactions, and emotions are clues that point to the inner “theme” you’re living in. If you don’t look at them, you can spend your whole life running on old programs you learned years ago without realizing it.

This shows up clearly with horses.

If a rider keeps getting frustrated, rushing, or shutting down in the saddle, it’s easy to blame the horse. But in The Michelle Method, we ask a different question first:

Why am I reacting this way?

One of the best ways to figure out your inner theme is to look at why you do what you do.

What is the intention behind your words, your tone, your body, and your choices?

Without that awareness, old patterns quietly control the ride.

These patterns don’t just affect training. They spill into everything.

Your relationships. Your work. Your health. The way you talk to yourself.

For example, a rider living in insecurity may act confident or even arrogant, but underneath they feel unsure. They may be drawn to things that boost ego or status. They may overtrain their horse to prove something. The horse often feels pressured and tense.

Just like horses seek environments that feel safe or unsafe, people are drawn to people, places, and habits that match their inner state.

This is important to understand:

Many things we think are “just who I am” are actually learned patterns.

Being confrontational or easygoing.

Feeling stuck or curious.

Loving chaos or craving quiet.

These are not fixed traits. They can change.

And horses help us see this faster than anything else.

You can’t separate parts of your life.

How you ride is how you live.

How you react to your horse is how you react to stress.

Nothing is isolated.

When a rider lives in trust and calm, that energy comes out even on hard days.

When a rider lives in fear or overwhelm, that energy shows up even when things are “going well.”

The situation isn’t the problem.

The inner theme is.

This explains why people can look at the same horse, the same training issue, or the same life event and see it completely differently. One person sees a problem. Another sees information. One shuts down. Another gets curious.

Neither is “wrong.” They’re just living in different inner worlds.

This is why growth can feel uncomfortable.

If someone lives in control, the idea of letting go feels scary.

If someone lives in judgment, forgiveness feels impossible.

The ego protects old programs, even when they don’t help anymore.

But here’s the hopeful part.

Every theme is available to you.

You can choose a different way of seeing, responding, and showing up.

That’s what inner work really is.

In The Michelle Method, we don’t just strengthen the horse’s body.

We help the rider step out of old patterns so the horse can feel safe enough to change.

When the rider changes, the partnership changes.

When the partnership changes, life outside the barn starts to shift too.

Real freedom doesn’t come from forcing outcomes.

It comes from choosing, moment by moment, to respond instead of react.

Every ride is a choice.

Stay in the old pattern, or step into a new one.

And your horse will tell you immediately which one you picked.

REFLECTION QUESTION: