Through a child’s eyes

Today’s post comes from an unusual source. The child of one of my clients. As a naturally inquisitive 8 year old she wondered who was this person who called Mummy on Skype, and what exactly a “coach” did? We spoke briefly and I told her that I get her Mummy to reflect on success and progress, on obstacles and challenges and how she can overcome them. I asked the little girl to reflect on something she had achieved, this is what she came up with……..

“Last year, I would go out on my bike (sometimes reluctantly, as I knew I couldn’t get up the hills). I would wheeze, groan and complain about the hills locally (we live somewhere with ‘hill’ in the name, the clue is there really). Presently, anticipation surges through my body like a sudden electric shock and cheering and encouragement (especially from my mum) is only the start of my inspiration.

Now I have learnt this it is no good just whining about it, bike rides have become more enjoyable for me. Recently, I conquered the hill that we live on (or the ‘Big One’ as I call it); the feeling at the top of the hill was absolutely the opposite of torture. I also discovered that it is more fun if you ride your bike to a scenic environment and take a picnic to enjoy there.

All right, it is difficult to get up a monster hill for a beginner biker like me, but really it isn’t the skill that gets you up there and it’s worth it because you get to do something that I recently discovered; what my mum calls ‘gliding’. To get to the bottom of a hill, you need to (not need to, but I recommend it) pedal exceedingly fast and then rest your feet and let your bike glide….

My new bike seems much better than my old one (when we took my old bike out of the byre it was tiny). My new bike is a purple Muddy Fox with 18 gears and it moves easily, like I’m riding on clouds.

Attitude also helps me, because last year I was saying “I can’t do it” but this year I was crying “come on, Xxxxx, you can do it!” That means that a positive attitude can help you achieve your goals or targets (not just in biking, but in every skill). Also, other people believing in you helps too.

Now I have also stopped moaning, everything seems better and easier, more enjoyable. When you enjoy a skill you get better at it than when you hate learning. I’m sure that the same thing happens to you too.”

So there you have it. I don’t want to add too much to this as it stands beautifully on it’s own. All I would say is, look at the clarity of an 8 year old, I think we could all benefit from such advice as “stop moaning”, “enjoy a skill to help you learn” and “have a positive attitude”

I’ll leave the last words to the little girl (even though I feel her mother may have influenced her musical tastes)

PS: I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like…