When somebody says that Albert Einstein was right, it would be foolish to say otherwise. So when the German physicist said that, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. There are so many layers to this quote that slicing it would take a book to explain it all.
In the very small community of cyclists who loved to race, a community whose competitive fervor can sometimes run from bad feelings and in rare instances, fistfights, keeping your work, family and our passion in balance is just so difficult to do. In fact, its just very difficult to excel in all three.
About two decades ago, I was naively complaining to a witty friend that the reason why I was just pack filler during races is that I lacked training while. He snapped, “Then quit your job and train like the them”. I wasn’t thinking when I replied, “What about my job?”. He didn’t reply and it took me a few moments to realize what he just said without saying it aloud.
It was then that I realized that life was about balance. You can’t be an expert on two things. You can’t be great at your job and great in something else in one lifetime.
One of the best two-sport athlete was American Deion Sanders. Sanders won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, respectively. He also appeared in the 1992 World Series with the Atlanta Braves. However, as great as “Prime Time:” was on both sports, he would be best remembered as Dallas Cowboy.
So if you’re very bad on cycling, don’t worry, you’re not alone. But I’m very sure your business is doing well, or you just received the, “Employee of the Week” award. Or maybe your family life is just satisfying and something you look forward to at the end of the day.
For every you, me and a few hundred competitive cyclists like in the peloton, there is an outlier who is great in all three, while the rest of us are 1 of 3 or 2 of 3.
It’s the same thing at work, there are just co-workers who are very good at something that you are so bad. My daughter, also told me that classmates of her that are good on math are poor in English. And vice versa.
If the past few days of your life was just a bummer, then maybe a ride to Willy’s will cure the blues away. And without realizing it, you won.
In these troubled times, it is easy for us to just go back to bed and hide under the blanket and let the world turn and everything will turn our right. Right, not perfect!
We can’t hide under the blanket because were not good at one aspect of our lives. Me, I’m lucky, I have a wife who supports me 101% in everything I do, as Lon as its not illegal!
The only way that you’ll fall of your bike is when you stop pedalling. So put that one foot over the other and the next time you know, you’d arrive on the finish line ahead of the rest.