I’ve been lying a bit low as I recover from a bike crash last month. We often think of recovery as passive, but this is also an active intentional process. My work is to recover physically & emotionally, and choose to find meaning in the experience and downtime. I love a good metaphor, so here’s a story:
THE KNOCKDOWN & THE REFLECTION
Once the ER gave me the clear to leave, the nurses helped me stand and pointed me toward the hall. “Go down to the end and turn left at the Teddy Bear. That’s the ER waiting room where your ride can pick you up.” I gingerly began my first walk in hours. It was a dazed, painful, slow waddle in cycling shoes on their glossy white floors. As I neared a group of ER staff, I saw a doctor look my way. He seemed to be taking me in, assessing I’m sure, the cycling kit, bike shoes, helmet hanging over wrist, crazy Medusa-like hair (yeah, I got a peek). I continued on. Halfway down the hall I realized they hadn’t put me in a sling as prescribed. Damn it - groan – extra walking! I turned and shuffled back. While the nurse was getting the sling, I looked up and saw the same doctor again. This time he looked at me and said “how’s the bike?” (As a cyclist you will totally get that. It’s typically one of your first questions after a crash.) I replied, “I don’t know”. Then, he looked at me straight on and said “Get back on it.” I don’t think my reaction at the time was positive, it may have been a little silent “WTF is he thinking?!”, but his words are still clear and I am SO thankful he was there to say them.
About two weeks later, I was on a call with my mastermind. One woman was talking about how she’d had a couple of disappointments in her business recently and had been taking it hard. That day, though, she said “It’s time to get back on the bike” and she started talking about her next steps. She wasn’t comfortable, but she was ready to engage her courage and energy again for the thing she is passionate about. She’s moving forward despite the discomfort. Intriguing that she used that metaphor then right?
WHAT IS RESILIENCE?
Psychology Today defines resilience as “…the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before.”
Hmmm……Resilience is the quality of Getting Back on the “Bike”
IS RESILIENCE A TRAIT OR A CHOICE? It is said that some people inherently have more resilience than others, but it is also known that we all have the ability to develop mental and emotional skills to become more resilient. In both of our stories above there is learning, acceptance, courage and positivity that will move us toward our comebacks. These are skills I work on for myself and with my clients. We are choosing growth and resilience.
Is there something YOU love and want to get back to?
Perhaps it’s getting back to something physical that injured you; going back to a healthy eating plan after you let it go and gained weight; dating again after a relationship split that hurt; launching something in your business when the last launch wasn’t successful. Maybe you gave up on a hope or dream because the pandemic makes it harder to see.
Some things are damn hard, that’s a given.
Do you give up or do you get back on?
What do you need to think, do, know about yourself to get back on your bike? What skills of yours do you need to pull from and which ones do you need to develop? Who can help you?
GETTING HELP & ENCOURAGING RESILIENCE:
I know this:
We need people around us to remind us to get back on the bike
We can be that person who encourages others to get back on the bike when they need it
We can be an example of the courage & passion that gets back on the bike after a downfall
Every time we get back on the bike we build our courage and resilience muscles
What kind of bike do you need to get back on? Tell me about it. Let’s do this together!
#getbackonthebike #resilience #lifecoaching #comeback #yougotthis #empowerment #selfawareness #courage #confidence
