How to beat the negative “what if’s”
When I think of negative-what-ifs I always remember the day I was riding my bike down a country road that I had never traveled on before. Up ahead I could see that I would be riding through a fenced off area where cattle were penned in. I knew this because I saw a familiar sight, where the fence on either side of the road tapered down to the edge of the road, but there was no gate.
I'm sure you've seen this ingenious method of keeping cattle from exiting an area where no gate exists to keep them in. They embed steel bars into the road. There is a gap between each bar sufficient to catch and trap the hoof of the animal should they attempt to venture through.
Depending on the surface of the steel, and the size of the gap, it can be dangerous to ride across on a bike. I learned this the hard way years ago. I took a spill one time attempting it. Approaching that area, I got off my bike and proceeded to walk across. As I looked down I couldn't believe my eyes. There were no grates at all! They had simply painted lines to look like grates on the road.
As I got back on my bike, and rode on, I began laughing out loud. How funny is that? Are you kidding me? I pictured in my mind two cows, one named Harry, and the other named Hoof. As they approached that part of the field for the first time, they thought maybe someone left a gate open. Excitedly they run to the opening, but are immediately disappointed when they see the all too familiar grates in the road.
Upon further inspection, however, Hoof turns to Harry and says, "Hey Harry...If I'm not mistaken that's PAINT! Let's go for it!" To which Harry replies, "Naw...too risky!"
Has the more exciting, and sometimes a bit more dangerous, side of life become off limits to you because of the negative-what-ifs? Do you find yourself backing off, or out of, opportunities to "go for it", as it relates to participating in more physically challenging activities? Are you now so fearful that you're seeing steel bars where there is really only paint?
If so, there is a sure fire way to regain your courage and go-for-it spirit; GET BACK ON TRACK AND GET FIT! I challenge you to go for it. Make the commitment, right now, to do whatever it takes to regain your strength, flexibility, endurance, and stamina, so that you never again have to surrender to the negative-what-ifs.
