What’s the payoff? A happy horse is trained based mostly on motivation. Relief from pressure (negative reinforcement), or receiving a specific reward (positive reinforcement). 

Saying yes and saying no. Skilled trainers use a balance of both and that balance shifts with each individual horse. The emotional horse needs more encouragement. The dominant and dull need firm boundaries. Riders who motivate mostly by punishment produce tense horses. Those who mostly pat and talk to their horses make them inattentive and pushy. 

And what motivates people to change? Do you think it’s when we realize the payoff of what we gain in giving something up is more than the payoff of holding on to it?