I want to ride my bicycle

Evelyn Zoubi
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read

About 6 years ago when I first made the leap to launch my first startup out of Jordan. I quickly realized that the journey will be long, I got into a an inner battle of fighting my fears by challenging myself and getting out of my comfort zone.

Building a startup has an expensive emotional price tag. After my first burn out, I’ve decided to take 1 day a week completely off. At that time I didn’t know how to ride a bicycle, I turned that into a challenge. I joined a local cycling group for a cycling excursion to the Dead Sea. Along the 27 km (17 mile) path, a bus would follow us to give us the option to get off the trail at any point and ride on the bus instead. It was perfect for a newbie like myself.


My attempts resulted in constant sways to both sides- mostly because I was cautious and going at a slow speed. Soon I realized, to gain balance, I had to gain momentum by speeding. I stopped halting, “good”.. I was making progress, yet the swaying continued, specifically, when I looked at passing cars. A car passing my right side made me gravitate towards it, my glances at the rock mountain on my left side made me gravitate towards it too. My second takeaway in learning how to cycle was not to fixate my sight in other directions than my own. When I looked straight I cycled straight. I had finally learned how to gain control.

At times, I would decide to slow down, to manage my overwhelm “If I continue going this fast, I’ll crash” I thought to myself. But doing so, would get me to square one, I had to find my balance again to regain the momentum I needed to get on the road.

‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.’ Albert Einstein

The analogy I took away from my experience is to set our own goals as a priority over unimportant matters that don’t contribute into achieving them, on the contrary they create distractions. Throughout one’s journey, there will be a lot of distractions, doubt, achievement comparisons, irrelevant opinions and other forms of noise. Clearing that noise and listening to your inner gut is what keeps you on a straight path of yours. We can only control and improve our own actions. Keep improving what you’re good at, it’s the best way one can invest their energy.

And finally, once you’ve gathered the courage to move, keep going. The momentum you built up will lead you to a point where you’re no longer paying attention to the process of riding a bicycle, you’ll enjoy the ride, the view and the speed. You’ll be present in the moment. This state of mind is what I always strive to reach.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” Confucius

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