On and off the bike
/In our recent Mountain Biking and Mindfulness Intermediate Clinic, Sara Hunter and I, once again, found the value of adventure activities as a means to tend our nervous systems, calm our minds, and to create healthy stress followed by rest and recovery. It was a rich weekend of growth for all participants, helping to shift patterns and old beliefs while having fun as a group of women in nature together.
Along with the benefits of experiential “bottom up” approaches to brain change, adventures are also rich in metaphor, and I too came away from the weekend with deeper self-knowledge. To be transparent here, I want to share that I used to be the kind of mountain biker who would count how many times I stepped off the pedals, who compared myself to others on the trail, criticizing my pace, my skills, and this led to actively avoiding more challenging terrain or maneuvers on the bike. I didn’t want to fail. I had the same approach as a whitewater paddler back in the day. I made enough progress to get to a certain level of comfort, then stopped pushing myself.
In the past several years I have done much to change this pattern, and my mindset on the bike is radically different. My technical skillset, though, has not changed as much and in preparation for this past weekend, I wanted to step up my skills so that I could be a better “assist” for Sara’s mountain biking lessons (she’s the one certified as a PMBI level one instructor, whereas I hold the Somatic Experiencing Practitioner certification).
I took a lesson from the local legend, Shanna Powell (Endless Bike Girl), and in the supportive learning environment I got to take little steps of improving technique and skill and discovered that maneuvers I had assumed were beyond me were in fact well within my ability. The key is, at least for me, titration: adding small (tine!) increments of challenge in order to not trigger overwhelm. And then to repeat the movement or segment of trail enough times that the new skill (or experience) is anchored into the “zone of resilience” (or comfort zone) and the body is not as as activated… the trail even slows down, so to speak.
I am now taking this learning off the bike and into my business.
Where are the obstacles and challenging terrain that I have been avoiding? How do I take smaller steps and repeat these maneuvers until the challenge becomes less overwhelming? Who can I enlist to support and teach me on this path? And what structures will provide me with more opportunity for small successes along the way?
My challenges currently are showing up in the realm of consistency: keeping consistent schedules for my workday (less decision fatigue), consistent marketing (and a deeper knowledge and desire to tend this part of the business), and consistently prioritizing professional development.
Here are examples of the ways I am addressing these challenges:
testing out group strength training classes that meet at a certain time- to support my daily schedule and ability to have more focus and structure for my work day
hiring a virtual assistant to help with marketing, by far one of the more challenging areas of my business, who will help me to set attainable goals for spreading the word about retreats
identifying the next area for my professional development, so that I can keep learning how to better support my clients, and registering for courses with the leaders in the field
Once I lean into these challenges, take small steps to address them, receive support from others along the way, and build my capacity for follow through, I end up having more FUN and FULFILLMENT… just like on the bike! When a feature on the trail is brought into my zone of resilience, then the entire experience shifts.
What about you? What areas of your life are challenging and perhaps something you’d rather avoid? How can you make the challenge much much smaller, enlist support, celebrate any progress, and repeat until you feel more comfortable and are ready to add the very next piece?