Discomfort zones

The first problem is that the Horse learns bad habits as easily as good ones – or we would never learn to do things that are dangerous or hazardous to our health – such as not indicating when we pull out or smoking cigarettes.

The second problem is that the Horse protects its comfort zones.

If you were riding a trained horse as a novice, you would probably find that it just followed the one in front around the riding school. It would take considerable effort and some skill to persuade it to take a different route to the other horses. You could use the reins and stirrups to give the appropriate signals and it would probably go where you asked it – until you stopped giving it the signals, at which point it would quickly return to following the other horses.

When you change from doing something in the usual way to doing it in a new way, you have to stop using automatic pilot (the Horse) and start thinking consciously about what you are doing. This can be a frustrating experience, as you have to remember to stop and think before taking action. Just move your waste bin to a different place and you will soon see what I mean.