Breaking the Cycle, One Pedal at a Time

The other day I was out on a trail riding my mountain bike. While out there amongst the varied degrees of terrain I had a moment that reversed my thinking, and not just pertaining to that day’s ride. Down hills aren’t meant for coasting, they are for gaining momentum for the upcoming hill. In life, there is always another hill around the corner. How will you approach it? Will it beat you at the bottom or will you climb it until your legs begin to burn, then push more?

Normally when I ride I use those moments to catch my breath and rest my legs. But I am not out there to rest. I am out there to work. I was resting a minute ago when I was on the couch flipping channels and I will rest when I get back. Now is the time for motion, sweat, loss of breath, maybe a few tears and some much needed pain. This kind of pain is addicting and makes my energy level rise and my whole entire being a well place to be.

What must take place is change. A change in my mind will produce a change in my attitude which will completely change the results that I am used to producing. They say a form of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. The only way to affect your result is you must change either an ingredient or a process within your formula, even if only that change is slight or minute.

If you alter the coordinates of a ship, eventually it will land miles away from its original destination. At first the difference will be unnoticeable to the human eye. In life, if you make a change even if it is small, that little one will turn into larger ones. Eventually each of those changes will create a positive domino effect and before you know it your life has changed for the better. You feel better about yourself, you might have lost weight, maybe an old disgusting habit has been long forgotten or you might even encounter this elusive creature we all call ‘Happiness’.

I encourage you to apply this to any area of your life and I promise you will see results, or your money back. Now, when I ride my bike, every pedal stroke reminds me of how much closer I am to my goal. I don’t stop for rest as often as I used to. The down hills are much faster and more fun. As for the next hill that I will meet in a second, around the corner, tomorrow or down the road some time, well I feel sorry for you.