Like Riding A Bike

Like Riding a Bike

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. - Dale Carnegie

I learned how to ride a bicycle without using training wheels. It wasn't pretty.

I don't remember all the particulars, but I remember my sister and I deciding that it was time for me to learn how to ride a bike. But when we went to find the training wheels, we could only find one.

The only thing worse than having no training wheels is having one because you already know which side you're falling on. The longer it took for us to decide whether I would learn without training wheels, with one training wheel, or wait for new training wheels, the more fear overcame me.

A dirt lane beside our barn was flat and softer than the main gravel road in front of our house. My sister held the bike while I got on and ran beside me, holding the bike steady.

This worked for several tries, and finally, she let go. As soon as I realized she wasn't there, I crashed and scraped my knee. I yelled at her for letting go. She grinned and told me I was riding by myself for a way. Really? Fear and anger quickly changed to excitement and happiness.

This time, I asked her to tell me when she let go. She did. And after a couple more crashes, I learned how to ride my bike, without training wheels. My confidence and courage grew exponentially that day, because I didn't need training wheels. My big sister believed in me and now I could ride a bike

Believe in yourself and tackle that project you've been putting off.

Happy Writing,
Tony