These days, I seem to get inspiration from almost anywhere. Even a simple family outing to the local roller skating rink can get the wheels turning for a new blog post (literally).
My kids are almost Irish Twins. They are 12 months and 2 weeks apart (so close!). Their birthdays are in June, so it’s a busy month of celebration. They get to pick a special activity to do on their birthday, a tradition we started a few years ago. Rebecca picked the gold mines here in GA, where we dug for precious stones. Ryan chose roller skating.
I used to skate in my earlier years. It’s probably been about 25 years since I last graced the rink in my hometown. That place has since been demolished. Honestly, I didn’t think roller skating rinks existed anymore. I was wrong.
The kids love it, and we had a great time. Being there brought back a ton of memories from my younger days.
As I watched both kids skate, I noticed they each had their own style, and their own way of conquering the rink.
Ryan flew out on to the floor, truly not giving a shit. He wiped out a bunch of times. He didn’t care. He picked himself up off the floor and kept going. He didn’t cry. He didn’t give up. He just kept going. By the time we were ready to leave he was whipping around the rink like a pro.
Rebecca was more cautious. It was clear she was afraid, but she didn’t let it stop her. She held on to the wall for support. She didn’t fly on skates like her brother, but she was steady. She didn’t fall, not once. She didn’t worry about people passing her. She didn’t care that people were skating faster. She just kept going – one skate in front of the other – forward motion. By the end of our afternoon Rebecca wasn’t hanging on to the wall anymore. In fact, she had moved far enough away from the wall that it couldn’t help her if she needed it.
Two people, with two totally different styles, both doing their thing.
They didn’t worry about anyone else.
They did it their way.
And, in the end, they both accomplished what they set out to do.
Fascinating, isn’t it?
My point in sharing this……
To some extent, we all struggle with some form of compare & despair. We watch other people, we see what they’re doing. We compare what we see on their outside to how we feel on our inside. It’s a losing battle every single time. We focus on them, while losing sight of ourselves. Many of us let the fear of falling – the fear of failing – keep us from going around the rink.
It doesn’t matter if you run head first towards your dream, or take cautious turtle steps, while hanging on for support. The only thing that matters is you keep moving forward, in whatever way feels comfortable for you.
What do you stop yourself from doing, because you're not good enough (yet)?
Who, or what, are you comparing yourself to?
What is one step you can take towards that thing?
This week, take that step.
Practice staying in your own lane.
Just do you.