Amy Heidbreder

Persistence prevails, until it doesn’t. In the thick of adversity, I find myself occasionally annoyed by common inspirational phrases, such as “hard work pays off;” “your only limit is your mind;” or “don’t wait for opportunity, create it”—to name a few.

Can anyone relate?

In my riding is where the use of these phrases usually aggravates me the most. In equestrian world where such a disparity exists between adult amateur riders—one group funded by their parents or family and the other group funded by their own two hands, forced to work for a living—how can one at the short end of the stick not be slightly annoyed? If you step back and evaluate these two groups, logically a rider having to fund their own career faces a massive disadvantage compared to their family funded counterparts, especially if they’re young hopeful adults fresh out of college entering the workforce at entry level positions. Both groups have to work hard at their sport, be fit, keep their horse fit and be dedicated to their training, but the self-funded group also carries the weighty pressure of battling for promotion and bearing the responsibility of high level managerial, CEO or engineering type jobs needed to afford this sport. Working amateurs are expected to carry the weight of two different careers. Whenever I see a young rider funded by their family make it in this sport, it’s hard sometimes for me to be happy for them. I feel like maybe I could achieve more too if I could shed the weight of being fiscally responsible for my riding.

This annoyed feeling toward inspirational phrasing doesn’t just apply to the elitist world of show jumping. There are many areas in life, where this feeling might ring true.

Perhaps you’re someone who has endured bad luck after bad luck and is wondering “when is hard work going to pay off for me?” Life has a way of making us feel like we’re up against insurmountable odds. And the truth is, in a way, we might be. Life births us all into different situations, each with a distinctively unique chance of achieving our goals. We all enter this world with a particular handicap and a unique likelihood of making it, wherever “it” is. Persistence and hard work are methods of increasing those odds. Persistence alone does not actually prevail, nor does hard work alone pay off, but there is some merit to these statements, even if it feels like their pursuance has left us feeling hopeless and like the world isn’t for us.

I say this often, fairness and equality in life do not exist. We do things as a society to attempt and level the playing field and give everyone a fair shot at achieving, but laws and systems can only go so far to overcome human discrimination, human tendencies, resource allocation and nature.

So, how can hard work pay off in an unfair world? Sometimes it doesn’t—unless we change our perspective. For hard work to pay off, we must first stop working hard for the payout. Instead we must work hard to increase the probability of our achievement. You can be born into exactly the right situation, have all the talent in the world, grind, and suffer a major accident tomorrow, stopping you short of ever achieving your dreams, because hard work alone does not achieve dreams. You know what hard work does do though? It mathematically increases the probability of your achievement, as does persistence. While you may not be born into the right situation to achieve, sitting stagnant and lamenting that fact does not get you any closer to your goal. It actually wastes time and decreases further the probability of your achievement. Hard work, a positive mindset and persistence increase the probability of you making it, even if minutely. As someone who often finds herself on the short end of the stick, I hate admitting that, but it’s the truth. It’s truth rooted in statistics, mathematics and science, not just faith. Though trust me—I get it—those of us in the thick of being victimized absolutely may find ourselves needing to lean on God to keep going. I’ve been there. Who am I kidding? I’m there now!

My naïve advice to those up against unfair odds is, in the face of adversity stay close to the tack and just keep riding. Cling to whatever you need that helps you put one foot in front of the other. Yes, if you’re not white, you’re likely going to face racism at some point in your life. Yes, if your family is poor, you’re likely going to have to work to pay for your education. Yes, if you’re disabled, regaining control of your body to play a sport is going to be a miraculous feat. There is no denying the odds are against people like you, but rather than focus on your short comings, by sitting and doing nothing other than wallowing in your victimhood, instead focus on areas you can increase your odds in. I liken it to spreading seed EVERYWHERE. Write books, apply to 1000 jobs, learn new skills, network, just show up. The more you connect and improve any skill, the more likely something’s bound to sprout. Invest in your health. Find the right balance of food, nutrients, sleep and prayer that provide the perfect amount of energy both physically and spiritually.

Unfortunately, if you do all this, there is no guarantee that you will be successful in whatever you’re pursuing, BUT you are improving the probability of you achieving your goal(s). Every day you show up and just put the saddle on, your odds increase. Find things that will just get you out of bed. You don’t have to run and be highly engaged every waking second, but just put the saddle on. Just show up. Just walk. Just take one step. “Just keep riding” is the mantra I live by, hoping that one of these days I stop saying one of these days and can share with you all a story about persistence actually prevailing.