Today is day 14. It has been two whole weeks of posting every single day. Look at that; we made it.
I have alluded to this before but in March I wrecked on my OneWheel. I just started riding it again consistently, with a new wrist brace mind you, these past two weeks. And on my ride home from the gym I started thinking and the whole experience.
A lot of people tell me it is irresponsible to ride it and that I am dumb and too old and whatever else they say. They might be partially right. I am not a great listener though and a bit stubborn.
However, on my ride today I thought of a few lessons that it has reinforced for me.
- You Are Stronger than You Think
Obviously, I fell and got hurt. I still remember coming out of my daze and reaching for my board and walking down the road toward my house. The OneWheel weighs 26 lbs. I walked concussed for several hundred yards, with a broken arm, dislocated wrist, busted eyebrow with blood literally running down my face carrying the very thing that caused the injury; all 26 lbs of it.
A few hours later, I was stitched up, home from the hospital, arm wrapped up in a temporary brace. A month later all of my abrasions had healed and you wouldn’t know I was in accident unless you stared pretty closely at my right eyebrow and cheek.
I never would have guessed that my body was capable of healing from those injuries quite in the fashion that it did. I didn’t know my body was that resilient or that strong. And sure there were some rough patches and I had a hard time not doing the things I normally do but I made it to the other side with the help of doctors, friends and my family.
All of this to say… might there be something that you want to do but are afraid of. Afraid of being hurt. This could be physical or mental or emotional. Maybe you are scared to get that tattoo because it will hurt. Maybe you don’t want to enter that obstacle course race because you don’t know if your body can take the tool. Or maybe you are scared to truly be vulnerable for fear of rejection or being hurt. And… there is no guarantee that some or all of those things won’t happen BUT I think you’re stronger than you think you are. - Look up but not for too long
In order to get to where you want to go you absolutely need to have a vision and a sense for the direction you want to head. However, you can’t get there if you don’t focus on what is immediately in front you.
When I am riding my OneWheel I have to constantly pay attention to what is right in front of me. I would say I have about a 5′ distance that I absolutely need to be totally aware of. Anything outside of that is too far to really worry about. I look up and back down. Up and back down.
I need to make sure I don’t ride over a pothole without bracing for it, or might need to avoid a squirrel or branch in the road. There are an endless amount of adjustments I need to make along the path to my destination.
That is exactly how it is when you are chasing a goal. You will need to pivot and make changes and modifications. And that is ok. The key point is doing the next thing right. Whatever it is, whatever is 5′ in front of you, nail that. And then the next 5′ and the next and the next. Have a micro-focus on that area and before you know it you will arrive at your destination.
Focus on those next 5 feet. - Learn to Fall and Get Back Up
Do you know why I got hurt when my OneWheel took a nose dive at 17 mph? Besides the obvious here…
I had never fallen before. I didn’t know how to fall. I had never felt my feet come out from under me like that. I had no muscle memory to rely on.
You can practice falling. You can get good at it. BUT, that isn’t as sexy as going fast; so we don’t. I never did. As soon as I got on it and started to get comfortable it was just faster and faster and faster… and then. After 90 miles of rides that speed caught up with me and I wasn’t prepared for it.
If I could do it again I would been very intentional about practicing how to stop in all different scenarios. I would have put an obstacle in my way and practiced catching myself after a nose dive or losing my balance. I would have practiced falling and landing on my feet or rolling to my shoulder. I would have gotten used to panic that comes from losing control. Once you are good at falling you are then ready to ride.
Might this be the same in life. Can we condition ourselves to fall? To fail? What if we slowly and intentionally put ourselves in positions where the chances of success are not that great but there is a certainty for growth? What if we begin to condition ourselves through the act of bad writing or bad ideas to be ready for when the good one comes around?
Now this isn’t to say that we try to fail forever. Absolutely not. But how might we condition ourselves to get more comfortable in taking risks such that the chance of failure does not prevent us from the pursuit. In the end, I think that is the recipe for success; outlast the failures.
Even if you do fail, you can get back up and revisit number 1; because You are Stronger than you Think.
This has been a super rewarding and challenging experiment and I am excited to see where I take this. I will definitely keep posting on this site regularly but just can’t maintain the commitment of daily with the other pursuits I am trying to focus on (dataSmarts, Untucked podcast, etc.). We will talk again soon.
Create Your Art.
-Nate
