Making a mistake kind of puts me in a state of depression. It's mind-boggling how bad it makes me feel, and it takes me a while to get over it. We usually have to load our horses and head to the next event. So there's a couple-hour period that you can't think straight. It usually takes me a good night's sleep to get over it, and sometimes I can't fall asleep because it's still digging in my brain. I usually feel better the next day, but not until it's all gone through my mind. People think it all comes easy for us. But it's not that way. We have struggles just like everybody else.
If you totally dwell on the bad stuff, it affects your next performance. You have to be a strong-willed person to shake the negative things off and look forward to the next opportunity. If you can't figure out how to do that, you won't make it. It's kind of like a boxer. There's so much to the mental game in this sport. Sometimes there's nothing you can do-when you're on the wrong end of the draw or whatever. That's frustrating. But it's just part of it. You have to keep it real. This is a sport. This is how we make a living, but you have to keep it all in perspective and you can't control everything. The mental part alone can overwhelm you and throw you so far off track that you don't know if you're coming or going. We all lose a lot more than we win. Get used to it. The highs don't even come close to balancing out the lows.
