Mongolian Horses, The First Day of School & Lessons in Survival
The Mongolian people have an incredibly strong tie to horses. Much like the West’s relationship with dogs, Mongolians have a deep cultural connection to horses. As just one measure for their appreciation for the animal, they have over 500 words in the Mongolian language to describe horse traits and 250 terms for color and pattern alone.
In line with their love of horses, the Mongolian people host competitive horse races during Naadam, a summer celebration of Mongolian sovereignty. Believe it or not, these races are jockeyed by children – in fact, the legal age to begin riding in competitive races is only 8 years of age. In 2020, more than 13,000 children were officially registered as jockeys with Mongolia’s Agency of Family, Child and Youth Development.
In a recent conversation with Lex Fridman, Historian Jack Weatherford details a fascinating Mongolian cultural insight by sharing a story of an 11 year old Mongul boy who fell from a horse during a ride. Weatherford, who had been in Mongolia at the time, witnessed the boy fall from his horse and the subsequent response from his family – no one moved to help him. The boy was hobbling to get back to the horse and needed assistance from his brother to make it back to the camp. Even there, he was not attended to by his mother.
Weatherford, an American, remained in shock at the lack of maternal support or compassion for the boy. That is, until two weeks later, when Weatherford learned of another Mongolian boy, this one 12 years old, who had been knocked from his horse by a branch while riding close to a tree line. The boy had attempted to find the horse that had bolted into the trees and became lost in the search…the boy was lost in the woods for two full weeks.
The lost boy slept during the daytime, walked briskly at night, singing songs to keep the wild animals away and followed water lines until he made his way safely back home. The average temperature in Mongolia is 28°F. Remarkably, the boy survived.
These stories left Weatherford with this profound take away:
If a Mongul boy falls from their horse, his mother’s not going to be there to save him.
By not attending to the boys when they fall, the Mongolian mothers, and the Mongolian people generally, are optimizing for their young boys to have the skills of self-sufficiency to survive – and maybe not just survive falling from a horse – but survive two weeks alone in the woods in freezing temperatures.
First Day of School Send Offs
This week, many parents in the U.S. are sending their children back to school. As a practice, we’ve spent the last month hosting meetings with clients and their families to discuss what to expect at the start of the school year. Some clients are heading off to college again, others starting off as freshman, and even others returning to high school. It’s an exciting time, but the sentiment from clients and families alike tends to be one of anxiousness and uncertainty for what the future may hold. This is a sentiment I totally empathize with, and yet, the story of the Mongolian boys has me thinking – what is all this anxiety about the future for? What are we optimizing for when we send our children to school (at any level)?
This week, amongst hurried mornings, busy travel days and emotional sendoffs, I encourage us all to think about the big picture. Whether you’re sending your kids off to school or just headed back to work, I think we all could take a page out of the Mongolian mother’s play book. No, I don’t mean ignore your hurt child, but rather, be much more thoughtful about how our actions at home, at work, and with others are designed with intention – with a sense of clarity around what actually matters in the long run.
I’d propose we move away from optimizing that our kids get great grades (rationalizing that grades are a reflection of effort) and that they’re the most important part of being a student...
Perhaps we move away from being overbooked, underslept, and irritable just so that we can keep up with the Joneses...
Maybe we move past snapping at coworkers or children to fall back in line, get the work done just to see curiosity melt away in favor of obedience.
After all, as Ryan Holiday talks about, shouldn’t we all be optimizing for being (and raising) good humans?
Attention!
Coaches, Trainers & Parents of Athletes
Did you know that our team specializes in working with high performing programs, teams and athletes?
Now is your chance to book our team for speaking engagements with your team - program - coaching staff or athletes.
Spots are limited, especially for in person meetings, so reach out today.
REPLY "READY" TO THIS EMAIL TO LEARN MORE.
|
Thanks for reading as always.
Time to win the week 🏆
See you next week :)
– J
|
|
Level Up Each Week Together
Get practical insights you can use right away — each week, I’ll send you quick, actionable insights from my work as a licensed therapist, mental performance coach, and educator.
|
