About Marijke de Jong

About Marijke de Jong 

For years, I worked with the natural asymmetry in the horse.

Since 2003, I've developed Straightness Training, helping riders create balance and harmony with their horses.

In 2014, I founded the Straightness Training Academy, and over time, something became clear.

What limited them most was not the horse. It was the rider’s mind. But this wasn’t new to me. Since I was 22 (back in 1990) I've been exploring self-mastery, trying to understand how our thinking shapes what we feel, do, and create.

Only later did I begin to see a deeper pattern. Another asymmetry was at play:

The positive-negative asymmetry of the brain.

A natural tendency to focus on the negative, shaped by biology, family, and society. And left unseen, this innocently limits what we think, feel, and do. Not only in riding, but far beyond.

Trying to think positively doesn’t solve this. It only covers what’s actually happening.

What changes everything is learning to observe our thinking, to understand where it comes from, to recognize the effect, and how it shapes our experience.

Pause, Observe, Choose has guided my work since 2004.

Because the real cause of struggle is not the situation. It’s how we think about it. 

And when we begin to see that clearly, we move from automatic, survival-based thinking to a wider, more helpful and useful view of reality.

From reacting automatically to choosing consciously.

To make this visible, I developed the STEREO Map during the pandemic. A simple way to see how your thinking shapes your experience, how to expand your options, and reclaim your power of choice.

That's when everything came together. 

And that's where STEREO Coaching was born.

What makes this work different

This is not…

• Not eliminating negative thoughts
• Not positive thinking
• Not mindset hacks
• Not fixing yourself

This is about…

• Becoming aware
• Seeing patterns and cause-effect
• Opening up to perspectives
• Making conscious choices

STEREO Coaching guides you in seeing what you couldn’t see before, so you can choose differently.

Who this is for

This is for you if:

• You think about things a lot, but it doesn’t actually move you forward.

• You don't feel bad, but you know you could feel a lot better.

• You know what to do, but still find yourself doing the opposite.

• You’ve done work on yourself, but some "bad" habit keeps repeating.

• You know there’s more in you than how you’re currently showing up.