One of the things from my childhood that had a significant impact on me was training wheels. When I was a young boy, and it came time for me to let go of my tricycle and learn how to ride a two-wheeler, I had some hesitancy.
Some of the thoughts that come back to me when I reflect on that time in my childhood include being too afraid to ride a bicycle independently, being scared of hurting myself, and not knowing how to ride a bike.
As a teenager, I rode my bicycle to the shopping center down the street to visit the travel agency. I asked for the outdated brochures to comb through them and dream of traveling to the places pictured on the pages. Collecting those brochures that had such an impact on my life might not have been possible without knowing how to ride a bicycle. I grew up to travel to nearly every destination that I dreamed of while looking through those brochures.
Some of what it took to build my confidence to learn how to ride a bike were:
- Assessing the Consequences.
- Mustering the Courage.
- Overcoming the Risks.
With the training wheels on my bicycle, I was ready to do all three things and learn how to ride a bike. I learned many lessons from that experience that have stayed with me over these many years, not the least of which is to try new things and be adventurous.
It seems to me that there are three key takeaways from my experience with training wheels that continue to show me the way as an adult.
- Stability is critical when doing something for the first time.
- Support can go a long way in strengthening conviction.
- Safety is the catalyst that supports risk-taking.
I can see the value of these three things in my life today and often refer to training wheels when coaching those who are doing something for the first time.
When we do something for the first time as a child, we have lots of feelings that are very similar to those that we have as adults. The secret to building confidence and success lies in our ability to rely on the value and importance of having training wheels in place.
The next time you feel a bit hesitant about doing something for the first time, keep in mind that having training wheels might just be the thing to get you up and going with the confidence and conviction that will lead to a successful outcome.
Imagine your career with training wheels that are there for your Stability, Support, and Safety. What might you do if you knew that failing was not possible? How might you jump on and take off into your adventures?
Who and what are the training wheels in your life?
With much gratitude.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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