Playing polo and horse riding are activities that, when you want to practice them at a competitive level, require a high level of concentration. The term “bubble” is often used in the athletic world when describing an impressive performance. Perhaps you’ve heard it before. Let’s take a closer look into what a “bubble” is and how it can help you become a focused rider and polo player.
The term “bubble” refers to the ability of a person to focus solely on tehir own world and what’s happening immediately around them instead of dividing their attention between many distractions.
When applied to riding a horse for playing polo, a bubble might just be what you need to stay focused. When you ride in a bubble, you effectively only think about yourself and your horse.
The first thing you need to do is to define your bubble:
Determining where your bubble works is extremely helpful. Perhaps you only need it moments before a game. Or maybe you need a more frequent time out with yourself and your bubble: at the stalls, walking to the arena or warming up. You should enter your bubble whenever and wherever it works best for you, so take time to explore what would be better for your mindset.
Then, you need to decide what goes in or outside of the bubble:
You must decide what things you let enter your bubble and space of focus. A very common one is positive feedback and encouragement. This can come from your family, your teammates and your trainer. Letting in these positive vibes helps elevate your confidence, relaxing you and making it easier to stay focused.
The same way, you must decide what things it’s best to keep out of your bubble so as not to disturb your concentration. The first thing that you should eliminate from your bubble is negativity. Negative energy, whether that comes as negative chatter, complaints or even gossip, can drown out your concentration.
Another thing it’s wise to keep out of your bubble is your phone. It may not have a negative energy per se, but it is a big source of distractions that can affect your bubble of focus and damage your confidence when riding. Best advice is to put it away and leave it at the tack stall. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to focus without constant notifications ringing up your phone.
Finally, when you’re in your bubble, let your mind free of past mistakes. Don’t overanalyze them. Once you have learnt from them, move on. This will help you focus on the ride and game ahead of you, instead of things that have already happened.
Try creating your own bubble of focus and see if it gives you a better chance at success!
