Back Pedalling in Your Business and Life

"Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." ~Albert Einstein

After not competing in a triathlon in 5 years, I did it. I signed up a week in half before the race for a mini triathlon without much training as the distances were do-able. (I do not recommend this for everyone.) I knew in my mind that I really needed to train for a Sprint Triathlon (750 m Swim, 20 km Bike, 5 km Run). Even with half the distance, I could hear my internal chatter battling back and forth having quite the conversation: “Are you crazy? You know you need to train. You have done this before, you can do it! For heaven sakes, it has been 5 years. You know what it takes.”

Have you realized that little voice speaks the loudest when you are challenging yourself? It does not matter if you are doing something for the first time or you are doing it for the twentieth time. The voice inside likes to put in its 2 cents. While I was racing, I realized that, yes I did do triathlons over 5 years ago and I still had the skills to do it again. Mind you, I needed definitely to sharpen those skills but nonetheless I already had them. You, too, have many skills you may not have used for months or years but you still own them. They are part of your blueprint. When there are challenges that come up in your life, you consciously or unconsciously retrieve those skills to apply to the situation that comes up.

As I was riding up the hill, I found myself thinking,”Wow, You did amazing job several years ago!” I think I appreciated it then but not as much as I do now. Climbing the hill became difficult and I quickly tried to find the right gear. When I found the right gear, I looked at the top of the hill and then focussed on 3-4 feet ahead of me. Every three to four feet, I got closer to the top. My positive self-talk was in the highest gear. My mind back pedalled to the past...Keep going you can do it! You never forget how to ride a bike! You can do it!


When I reached the top of the hill, I felt a surge of energy rush through me. I conquered it! I continued until I completed the race. If any of you have participated in an event or have been challenged by a situation that tests your mindset, you can appreciate what it takes to reach your end result.


ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE – Acknowledge and appreciate where you are right now and realize that where you have been has made you who you are today. You are not defined by the past but many lessons where learned that you pull into your future. You have done some pretty incredible things that you may not have full acknowledged.


BREAK THE PATTERN – Break the pattern of the internal chatter and filter out the negative from the positive. Allow the positive to replay in your mind to make you strong. When you break the pattern, you can have better control of the thoughts you allow to enter your mind.


CONQUER THE TASK AT HAND – Conquer the task at hand by seeing your end result but also focussing on what is in front of you right now. Every task or project you work on, keeps you pedalling to your destination – your end result.


Your mind is  powerful. You can accomplish many things. Sharpen it as often as you can and you will pedal into greatness!


What skills have you sharpened to move forward?