3-2-1 Get Balanced Wednesday
by Dr. Donnie
“Helping you align your daily behaviors with your priorities in life.”
3-2-1: Why We Never Forget How to Ride a Bike.
May 22, 2023
3 Ideas from me, 2 Quotes from others, and 1 Question to help you reflect on your work-life wellness and balance habits this week.
3 Ideas from Me
I.
I was six years old when I learned how to ride a bike. After two days of trying, trying, and trying, there was that one instance when my feet began to pedal the bike. Like many of you, I rode the bike for a short distance and stopped. Smiling from ear to ear, I couldn’t wait to do it again.
As I approached my first attempt to ride the bike after my first successful launch, my thoughts were positive, and I was ready to give it a go. As I had expected, I began to ride the bike down the sidewalk without any problems.
II.
Once we practice riding our bikes many times, our conscious competence skills quickly transcend into unconscious competence skills. Yes, we jump on our bikes for many years and ride for pleasure without thinking about how to do it. We then progress through our teen years and transition from two to four wheels. Our bicycle disappears, and we start driving a car, enjoying our friends, going on dates, going to the gym, shopping, and more.
Like the skill of bike riding, we learned many other new skills as youngsters, such as dating, exercising, healthy eating, optimism, and praying. To some degree, we learned, practiced, and developed many healthy skills that became habits many years ago. Then something happened: We got busy. Some of our healthy skills went dormant.
III.
No matter how long since you’ve ridden a bike, you could get on one today and go for a long, successful, enjoyable ride. Similar to bike riding, all the wellness and relationship skills you learned growing up are readily available to you to reengage. We can tap these dormant skills because of the enormous power of our brain and the body’s muscle memory.
I wonder how we and our American culture would benefit from tapping our dormant skills. We have the skills of exercising, strength training, eating a balanced diet, dating our spouses, thinking optimistically, praying, and having family dinners. We can let go of our stresses and replace them with doing something fun with people we enjoy. We never forget how to ride a bike because it’s our reminder that we can accomplish many things through positive thoughts and faith.
2 Quotes from Others
I.
“Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”
– Aristotle
II.
“Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”
Matthew 15:28
1 Question for You
What is the one dormant skill that you would like to begin using again? How would that impact you and your loved ones?
Until next week, may God bless you and your family and may the Glory be to God.
– Dr. Donnie Hutchinson