Learning
How To Fall ... You have to learn to fall
before you can ride with confidence!
Learning how to fall...
About a month ago, I was hit by a car while riding my motorcycle.
The car side-swiped me and took off. My bike bounced off the car,
shot out from under me, and I rolled under the car. Amazingly
enough, I stood up, picked up my bike, and got to the side of
the street without any problems. All I had was a small bit of
road rash on my elbow. I was lucky!
However, I'm not writing this to acquire oohs
and ahhs, but to discuss one important lesson I learned from this
incident that applies very well to life in general. The basic
lesson I learned here was that, now that I am confident in hitting
the ground and surviving, I have actually become a much better
rider. Of course, they do say that there are only two types of
motorcycle riders --- those who have gone down, and those who
have not.
--- Change and Balance ---
At
the beginning of many of my coaching sessions, my clients ask
me why things fall apart, out of the blue, once they get moving
along in their lives. Believe it or not, there is an answer. It
has to do with balance, lessons, and traversing new and unknown
paths. In all cases, the only time we encounter challenges is
when we decide to move forward toward a new goal. In our movement,
we throw our environment into an imbalance causing a chain reaction
of events around us to push balance back into the situation.
We
usually see this surge for balance as a problem, challenge, or
issue and then back off to fall back into the safety of the original
situation. But, realize, that such surges are merely in response
to your own desire to change. When you initiate change, your environment
creates an equal and opposite force against change. It is called
"nature".
--- Crash and Burn ---
Once
we are able to overcome the initial inertia of change and move
forward, we inevitably encounter challenges that will cause us
to stumble and fall. Such challenges are not in place to cause
us to quit, but are there to wake us up and make us realize that
we can endure much more than we thought we could and still continue
along our path. Falling enables us to see our own character and
abilities to prepare us for the future challenges. This is a stair-step
approach to bettering ourselves and becoming stronger in our resolve.
However,
the important part of falling is that you learn how far you have
to go to hit the ground. In many cases, we fear falling because
it's going to hurt. Indeed, wiping out at 50mph is painful, but
survivable. But, once you know what it feels like and can maintain
your wits when you hit the ground, getting up and doing it again
is easy because you know that you will survive. In the end, you
are better able to pursue the ultimate goal because you are no
longer afraid of falling, or failing.
--- What's next? ---
I
once heard the saying, "if you fall on your face, at least
you were moving forward." It's an interesting statement because,
the only way to fall forward is if you have forward momentum when
you fell. It's an excellent view to accept when moving toward
a goal as it can help make the potential falls easier to bear.
This, because, inevitably, we will fall. But, so many times we
get caught up in the negative aspects of failure, or falling.
Instead, view it as a wake-up call or a way to desensitize yourself
so that you can focus on your goal. In this way, future falls
won't be so dramatic and our fear of falling won't get in the
way of achieving our desires.
About the Author:
Edward B. Toupin is an author, life-strategy coach, counselor,
and technical writer living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things,
he authors books, articles, and screenplays on topics ranging
from career success through life organization and fulfillment.
For more information, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com
or visit his sites at http://www.toupin.com
or http://www.make-life-great.com.
More great info? Check this article from Tami Eggleston: COLOR
Yourself a Winner!
WITH PERSONALITY TEST you will find a few pointers
that can surely give YOU the edge you need to win your next race.
Furthermore, you will also find an interesting personality
test --> Learn about yourself - strengths
and weaknesses -, then use this info to your advantage. Learn
more...
Motorcycle Articles
Japanese Motorcycles Home
Back up to Learning
How To Fall.