Learning to Ride My Bicycle (by Aakash)
“What? Just two wheels? I was scared. It felt weird and, of course, I panicked. What if I scrap my knee while I fall down? Or I might bang into a wall. It was that first pedal that wanted me to keep going. My dad was there to hold the bike for me as I tried to balance and pedal at the same time. I never realized he had let go as he knew that I got it. I felt like a bird. And then came this gradual pull that made me lean to the right. I could not regain control and before I knew it I was on the floor with my knee bruised. My knee felt like it was on fire. But I got back on the cycle with my dad giving me a pep talk and I tried again. The falls kept coming too. I had predicted them. But I kept going until I was riding my cycle without any help. I felt this sensation of achievement.
It was different from other achievements that I didn’t have to work so hard for. That was when I fell in love with cycling.” Learning to handle some discomfort allows us to see more of life.
We achieve more when we overcome the discomfort or lack of confidence we feel about something we thought we could never do. Instead of quitting at the first sign of discomfort, we can push through and see what life is like on the other side.
