Life Lessons from MTB

I was thinking the other day that there is much to be learned about life from mountain biking. If you stop and think about  the skills needed for mountain biking some of them fit very well into life lessons. Follow along with me on this;

• Keep focused on the task (trail) ahead. So, here you are riding along and you begin to daydream, or your thoughts wander a little, I guarantee you the next turn or jump will catch you by surprise and your newest friend will be a tree. Is that so different from life? Let's keep focused here on our work lives. You are in the middle of a project and you lose your train of thought. Seems to me a tree, figuratively, may appear in your path.
• Have a plan. In MTB a plan can be, and usually is, a little different from a life plan. But to keep this rather simple let's focus on a project for work plan, not our lives in general. In biking our ficus is very short in the future. If I focus more that about 5 feet - consistently - my friend the tree or a large rock will get me. So...work plans are similar. Sometimes you must look up to scan the horizon but most of the time focus on the immediate.
• Don't be afraid to fall. No matter how good you are in biking you will fall. The better you get the more challenges you find. If you didn't want challenges you would be a street biker (no offense). Trying a new whatever in the working world will occasionally end with you tires up. When that does happen you dust yourself off, put a band aid on it, and begin again.
• Take time to enjoy. OK, it's the smell the roses kinda thing. Have you ever been riding and just stop to look at the river, forest, or prairie simply because its' pretty? If not, think about doing that sometime. Some times at work the same thing needs to happen - set back, put up your feet, and smile. It will do wonders for the day.
• Be flexible. Some times plans do need to be changed. In MTB suddenly what you thought you saw becomes something else - a jump, a crossing - you get the idea. It is time to change your original approach to the challenge. Hey, same thing in work/life. Be prepared to change as the situation dictates. Blindly following may end you up with another band aid.
• Keep you equipment in good working order. This really means you. Eat well, get enough sleep, and smile occasionally.

OK, there are probably scores of other examples I could use but I think you get the picture. Have fun and maybe I will see you on one of the trails or some project somewhere.

Later