A Lesson From My Two Wheeler
Today at a business networking meeting, we had the opportunity to explore how we dealt with failure in business and how we can turn that into a profitable experience. I remembered what it was like learning to ride my bike. I wanted to ride a big two-wheeler so badly, and the training wheels on the back of my bike seemed to be slowing me down, so I asked my father to take them off.
Free of that restriction, I got on my bike and took off only to fall sideways on the concrete before I reached the neighbor’s driveway. Skinned up hands and knees that stung with pain, I gently blew on them and got back on my bike. I didn’t like falling. I didn’t like the pain either, but I wanted what I was going for….the freedom that only riding a two-wheeler could bring.
I fell again and again, but what I noticed was that each time I got back on the bike I went a little farther before I fell the next time. I learned to steer my bike onto the grass when I felt the sensation of teetering off balance, so it wouldn’t hurt so bad when I hit the ground. I even learned how to quickly stick my leg out so I wouldn’t have to hit the ground at all. But most importantly, I could sense my body getting the feel of how to balance itself on the bicycle. What an incredible feeling that was.
I didn’t once consider quitting. I didn’t once say…maybe this isn’t for me. Although I did get frustrated, I didn’t once say, maybe I’m not meant to ride a bike; it’s too hard.
All the frustration I felt, strengthened the desire in me to succeed. I persisted, getting up again and again, sometimes with tears streaming down my face, I wanted it so badly. At some point I realized that getting mad wasn’t helping me, and instead, I began to pay attention to what my body was doing. It was making subtle, incremental adjustments to keep me balanced on the bike. With each fall, I found myself using the information from that experience to help me, rather than defeat me.
Then it happened. Instead of falling, I felt myself correcting my balance. I did that once, twice, three times, and I was on my way. I passed one driveway, then another and another until I got to the end of the block. I stopped, looked back and smiled. I did it! It felt good, and today I continue to feel good. I love the freedom of riding my two-wheeler all over town and beyond.
So how does this memory of failure and struggle help me today in my business endeavors? It reminds me that I can go for what I want, even if I am not fully ready for it. I can let myself learn along the way, as I move through the frustration of failing, while re-patterning my thoughts to embrace a more positive perspective of my journey. I can use the new skills I am learning to help me succeed, and from there to go for my next goal, like riding a bigger or faster bike!
What memory from your childhood do you have of wanting something so much that you were willing to do whatever you had to do to achieve it? What story from your life reminds you that you have the gumption to get up and do it again, and again, and again, learning along the way, the subtle, yet necessary lessons to help you achieve your goal, and to enjoy continued success from it?
Claim it, and if you would like, share it with us. Your story may make be just perfect for inspiring others to remember theirs.
Rebecca Victor and Your Joyful Path, 2012 to the present date. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rebecca Victor and Your Joyful Path with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
