And no this is not a reference to the amount I have been drinking in the lockdown 🙂 It has more to do with the fact that I fell off my bike whilst out on our morning ride.
Steve suggested that he could take photos of me on the ground so that I could share them and write something meaningful. At the time I don’t think I appreciated his suggestion, yet by the time I got home I found myself already formulating a plan to write an article.
I don’t know if anyone reads these articles or if they get any insights from them but I do enjoy the self-reflection as I write them so if nothing else, it’s for me.
So, what does falling off a bike have to do with work or life, the universe and everything?
I guess it was more about the situation. It was a really stupid fall – not going at great speed – I tried to take a hill, realised I wasn’t in the right gear nor did I have enough momentum so I tried to dismount elegantly, but ended up in a tangled mess on the floor – right in front of all the council worked there to tend to the park.
The stupid thing is I knew there was a hill coming, I knew I had to be in a lower gear and I knew I had to have momentum but somehow I was distracted and even though I knew also how to dismount to avoid crashing I also managed to forget, at that moment, how to do that.
A perfect recipe for a disaster.
And that happens in life and work too doesn’t it? We know what we should do, we know how to do it and we know the consequence of not doing it. But somehow we get distracted and end up ducking it up.
And then it comes down to choice…
Do you sit on the ground, crying, feeling sorry for yourself, beating yourself up because you are stupid and should have known better? Because you look silly in front of everyone? Do you worry about how you will look going forward?
Or do you just pick yourself up, have a good laugh about it (at the right time – I have to admit mine wasn’t immediate!), dust yourself off and get on with it. Recognise and observe that even though you know how to do things, sometimes there are just some distractions that take you off course.
That’s what I chose to do today.
Granted, it definitely wasn’t immediate – for a few short moments, I lay on the ground feeling sorry for myself and worrying about how stupid I looked. Then I realised that I looked even more stupid if I stayed there, so I got up and went on up that hill.
I’ve had some of the same realisations with work throughout Covid-19. I’ve felt like a failure for not being more prepared, for not being financially better off, for not being able to completely look after myself. I’ve even started doubting what I do and where it will fit into the ‘New World’? Will it change so much that I don’t enjoy what I do?
And then I remember why I am on this earth, what my purpose is – it’s to help Entrepreneurs have a better business and a better life. It turns out that when I focus on that, no matter how the environment has changed, I’m actually really good at it.
I have some great tools and tips I can share about how I move through these negative thoughts – I am happy to share them with you – just book me in for a free session and I’ll happily help you get through whatever you need to get through.
Or if you prefer, go and fall off a bike – it does wonders!
PS: Perhaps I should have allowed Steve to take a photo of me on the ground – I think (now) that would be funny!
Debra Chantry-Taylor Professional EOS Implementer & Coach | Leadership through Scary Times | Business Survival & Support Volunteers Founder
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