Saturday, June 1, 1996

Take off the training wheels

Remember when you first learned to ride a bicycle? You probably used training wheels.

Training wheels made it safer and more comfortable for you to learn. They kept you from falling. They helped you to gain a little confidence. Then it was time to take off the training wheels -- a traumatic experience.

All of a sudden you were exposed to the risk of falling. You had to keep your own balance. There was nothing to fall back on. And yet with a little bit of determination, you learned how to do it. And then what you felt was...

Freedom! Now you could ride up the driveway, down the sidewalk, through the fields, along the street. You could lean into turns and feel the wind in your face. You could speed down hills and fly off the curb. It was wonderful and exhilirating. Once you learned to ride without the training wheels, you never wanted or needed them again.

Are you living your life with the training wheels on? Are you nestled safely inside your comfort zone, with your job and your mortgage and your HMO and your daily routine keeping you nice and secure? Do you even know what you’re missing?

Is your fear keeping you from following your dreams? What are you afraid of? Going after your biggest dream is no more difficult than safely living inside your comfort zone. And it is infinitely more rewarding.

Riding your bicycle without the training wheels soon became even easier than riding with them on, and a whole lot more fun. You never would have known that, though, if you had not tried.

Are you too afraid to take the training wheels off? What’s the worst that can happen? The worst that can happen, will happen for sure if you DON’T take them off. The worst that can happen is that you’ll get to the end of your life never having known the excitement of challenge or the thrill of accomplishment.

Make the commitment today to grab those handlebars and head out on the road of life!

— Ralph Marston

Write it down Are you living the life you choose? next

Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.