Little by Little
The Problem
I have not met a person who has not had a life challenge that didn’t present opportunities for growth. The important thing is to embrace these challenges with resilience and determination, that way you can emerge stronger and wiser. I remember when I was learning how to ride my bike. I wish I could tell you I learned how to ride my bike in a day; however it was a process because I allowed fear to get in my way. I had a whole routine where I would motivate myself to ride my bike. I used self-talk like “Tomorrow I am going to ride your bike,” “I’m going to be brave,” “Even if Kenny (my next door neighbor) laughs at me or teases me, I’m going to get up and try again.”
The Challenge
Now I must put some context on this bike learning experience. My parents had purchased a bike with training wheels for me when I was five, but I didn’t ride it as much. However, when I was around eight years old all the kids in my neighborhood had more freedom to roam the neighborhood. I wanted that same freedom and had a great desire to be outside riding my bike with everyone. The problem was that I didn’t know how to ride my bike without training wheels, and I was outgrowing my bike.
This increased the challenge of learning how to ride my bike because kids can be cruel. But, somehow, I would gain enough courage to at least go and sit on my bike. Sometimes I would walk or run with my bike as if I was going to leap on and take off with the wind down the street. Other times I would just act like I was wiping something off my bike or examining it, you know those “busy bike tings.” There were also times where I just felt like giving up.
The Solution
I don’t know when the exact “determination by any means necessary” clicked inside of me; but the freedom I felt on the day I finally rode my bike was exhilarating! I put one foot on the pedal and then the next foot on the other pedal and was riding for like a good five minutes down the street. The feeling I had was surreal. I did it! I could finally ride my bike and you couldn’t tell me anything. I had found the inner courage, little by little, to conquer this challenge. This great feat was going to allow me to have the best summer ever! In that moment there was nothing I could not do. I have faced more challenges throughout my life and sometimes it took me a while to overcome them, but there is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment. What will your next feat be?
