So speaking of bikes, Kevin and I went on another adventure yesterday - mountain biking! Mountain biking is like, well, riding a bike for Kevin, but it was a whole new world for me.
When we spontaneously decided to go mountain biking I thought, No big deal! It's just like it sounds, right? Just riding a bike, but in the mountains? I've been riding a bike basically my whole life. I didn't expect to be so SCARED. (Anyone with me here? Have you tried it??)
The surest path to positive self-esteem is to succeed at something which one perceived would be difficult. Each time we steal a student's struggle, we steal the opportunity for them to build self-confidence. They must learn to do hard things to feel good about themselves.
It's in the struggle that we grow and learn that we can do hard things!
So maybe you don't like mountain biking, or maybe you're not athletic. But what is something you'd like to do (or need to do) that you find challenging, daunting, or scary? Why don't you try it? I'll bet you can do it.
When we spontaneously decided to go mountain biking I thought, No big deal! It's just like it sounds, right? Just riding a bike, but in the mountains? I've been riding a bike basically my whole life. I didn't expect to be so SCARED. (Anyone with me here? Have you tried it??)
With minimal instruction (Kevin's approach to teaching is that they learn how to swim best when you just throw 'em in the pool), we were off on a narrow, rocky trail alongside a steeper hill than I was comfortable with. After a few minutes on the trail, our friend Russ who was with us and loves biking as much as Kevin, yelled back to me, "Are you having fun, Abigail?"
"Not yet," was my reply.
I get pretty determined in that sort of situation. It bugged me that I felt so afraid. It was a reminder of how long it had been since I went on an adventure that forced me to defy my fears! So I decided I was going to ride at least until I started having fun.
Fortunately, that moment came sooner than I'd expected. After falling a few times and forcing myself to relax ever so slightly on the bike I was riding, I began to feel more comfortable and even learned to control the bike a little bit.
When it was all over, I felt accomplished. Happy. Strong. Pumped. Ready to do it again.
I thought of a quote my mom sent to me a few weeks ago (and probably to most of you reading this) by Sylvia Rimm.
The surest path to positive self-esteem is to succeed at something which one perceived would be difficult. Each time we steal a student's struggle, we steal the opportunity for them to build self-confidence. They must learn to do hard things to feel good about themselves.It's in the struggle that we grow and learn that we can do hard things!
So maybe you don't like mountain biking, or maybe you're not athletic. But what is something you'd like to do (or need to do) that you find challenging, daunting, or scary? Why don't you try it? I'll bet you can do it.
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Sorry I missed seeing this earlier! I'm proud of you, Abigail, for having fun doing something scary!
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