Rubble In Your Path – Learn To Go Through It

Having mountain biked for over a decade I’ve had much opportunity to tackle difficult terrain.  Though I have always had the choice to get off my bike and walk around hard lines I, in most situations, choose to be tested by going over them.  I love the challenges a path can bring when it is greater than  my abilities to conquer it on the first attempt.  Instead of looking at it with disillusioned eyes I try to see it as an opportunity to improve my skills.

I have found that there generally are two types of riders: those who aggressively attack the rough spots and those who would rather get off and walk around them.  With this in mind, fear is the controlling factor that separates one from the other.  Those riders, who choose to not face their fear, typically don’t improve as rapidly and in some situations give up all together because…it was just too difficult.

Now, it is alright to ere on the cautious side if you know your abilities won’t allow you to safely go through the rubble, but how many of us give up before we even try?  I believe life holds a lot of these similar truths.  When you watch the Olympic Games you get a front row view of people who have faced their obstacles head on.  None of those elite athletes give up when the road is rough.  Instead, they learn what is needed to go through the rubble, and then they do the work that they must to conquer it.

Have you ever found yourself wanting to do something and have had others try to talk you out of it?  Well, those individuals are in a third category.  They not only get off and walk around the rough spots, but they are also the ones removing those boulders and roots because . . . “Someone might get hurt.”  To those well-meaning souls I plead with you “Don’t!”  If your fear stops you do not let it affect others because you may be the obstacle in the pathway preventing another from knowing they can.

One final footnote to this thought:

There is a time and a season for all things.  I no longer race and therefore do not have the need to be at the top of my game.  I also do not need to prove my abilities to myself or others. The “will or will not do” versus the “can or can not do” is a very important personal thing to understand.  So, as I get older my will to do extremely technical courses will subside as my bones become more brittle.  Thus my challenges will come in a different form.  Then my season to paint may begin.  But I shall always look to setting goals and bettering myself in one area or another.

In Other’s Words

We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.

~ Robert Brault~