The art of achievement came back to me this past Canada Day long weekend. It felt so hugely amazing that I'm inspired to want more of it in all aspects of my life.
The trigger for this wasn't very extraordinary. It happened on my mountain bike at Silver Star Mountain in Vernon. I've been mountain biking for the last 5 years at varying levels of success and mostly with an injury. Usually, I get really nervous on the day of the ride with my mind racing all over the place, mostly at the worst place of self doubt. Instead of my usual mode, I was really good! Every drop, jump, and wall ride, I hit with full gusto and landed smoothly. I am shocked to believe that I did all of that!
A few key ingredients together to work out in my favor to create the perfect recipe for my achievement that day.
The trigger for this wasn't very extraordinary. It happened on my mountain bike at Silver Star Mountain in Vernon. I've been mountain biking for the last 5 years at varying levels of success and mostly with an injury. Usually, I get really nervous on the day of the ride with my mind racing all over the place, mostly at the worst place of self doubt. Instead of my usual mode, I was really good! Every drop, jump, and wall ride, I hit with full gusto and landed smoothly. I am shocked to believe that I did all of that!
A few key ingredients together to work out in my favor to create the perfect recipe for my achievement that day.
My Version of a Recipe for Achievement:
1) Envision What You Want
I wanted to feel good about landing the drop. This is very different from wanting to land the jump. If I only wanted to land the jump, I would only picture myself hitting the ground with my two wheels. What I really wanted was to feel confident from start to finish so I pictured myself gripping the bars, taking the drop with speed, and then landing.
Some people dream about the end result hoping that it will bring them happiness, success, and fulfillment. It could be a house with a white picket fence, having a lot of money, marrying the Ken doll dreamboat, etc. The question is "how" are you going to get there? Spend more time envisioning the steps it will take and then act out those steps. By taking mindful steps, you might be capable of reaching your end result or even ending up with something surprisingly better.
2) Lean on Your Team
My crew of Nico, Simon, and Zidra each played equally important roles to help me succeed. Nico coached and watched me, Simon used humor and high fives to ease my nerves, and Zidra gave me inspiration to follow her lead of fearlessly doing every trick. And all together, they dished out so many positive comments that made me feel humble but so good.
We all need support crews to help us excel. These are the special people that take the form of our friends, parents, lover, children, and community. DIY (do it yourself) will only take you to your personal limit but doing it with others will stretch you beyond your capabilities. And it's a bonus that it feels so fulfilling to collectively share in an experience!
3) Focus, Focus, Focus
On the morning of my rides, my mind was quietly calm. The mental chatter of 'I can't do that, sure I can do that, maybe I'll crumple when I land, did I leave the stove on, and on and on' wasn't there. All I could think about was 'I can do it, I will do it'. Mirroring my mental focus was an equally strong physical presence instead of the Gumby-like limbs that I normally have.
1) Envision What You Want
I wanted to feel good about landing the drop. This is very different from wanting to land the jump. If I only wanted to land the jump, I would only picture myself hitting the ground with my two wheels. What I really wanted was to feel confident from start to finish so I pictured myself gripping the bars, taking the drop with speed, and then landing.
Some people dream about the end result hoping that it will bring them happiness, success, and fulfillment. It could be a house with a white picket fence, having a lot of money, marrying the Ken doll dreamboat, etc. The question is "how" are you going to get there? Spend more time envisioning the steps it will take and then act out those steps. By taking mindful steps, you might be capable of reaching your end result or even ending up with something surprisingly better.
2) Lean on Your Team
My crew of Nico, Simon, and Zidra each played equally important roles to help me succeed. Nico coached and watched me, Simon used humor and high fives to ease my nerves, and Zidra gave me inspiration to follow her lead of fearlessly doing every trick. And all together, they dished out so many positive comments that made me feel humble but so good.
We all need support crews to help us excel. These are the special people that take the form of our friends, parents, lover, children, and community. DIY (do it yourself) will only take you to your personal limit but doing it with others will stretch you beyond your capabilities. And it's a bonus that it feels so fulfilling to collectively share in an experience!
3) Focus, Focus, Focus
On the morning of my rides, my mind was quietly calm. The mental chatter of 'I can't do that, sure I can do that, maybe I'll crumple when I land, did I leave the stove on, and on and on' wasn't there. All I could think about was 'I can do it, I will do it'. Mirroring my mental focus was an equally strong physical presence instead of the Gumby-like limbs that I normally have.
I believe that I was able to focus because of some skills I have been practicing in my deepened yoga practice. At the start of class, my teacher often reminds us to leave our stresses and worries 'off the mat'; to feel our quality of breath and to honor what our bodies desire in the moment. To no surprise, off my mat, I find I take this lesson into my everyday life.
4) Let Go Of Your Brakes
Metaphorically and physically, I released my brakes and allowed myself to soar off the jump. At this point, there was not much to do except entrust that I had prepared myself well enough to land it. I didn't flop like a rag doll. Quite the opposite, I experienced an intoxicating surge of success!4) Let Go Of Your Brakes
We all have differing degrees of risk tolerance. I straddle the line between risk adverse and risky. To grow, I believe that you have to trust that you have it in yourself to throw caution to the wind and put yourself out there. Regardless of the result, there is always a valuable lesson learnt in taking risk that has great potential to enable future growth. I have personally witnessed this growth in a number of people who normally would squeeze their brakes until their hands turned blue, and the results are truly inspirational.
There are many recipes out there so this is only one of them from my life cooking book. It's down home, hearty, basic, and worked out just deliciously for me. Maybe it's just right or it will need a special ingredient, but I won't know that until the next step along this exhilarating life journey. For now, I'll just savor in what I've got.
Note: I only took mental snapshots so for lack of a better picture, I am pretending to dive into the lake. I successfully avoided diving in.
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