I’m sitting on a daybed at my friend’s villa in Bali, listening to chirping bugs and birds, watching the wind blow through the coconut trees, and crossing my fingers that the rain holds off for the rest of the day as I’m headed out on a beach adventure!
I’ve been here for two weeks now and have been having an amazing trip… and yet… also noticing where I’ve come up against some inner demons, fears, and limitations around my comfort zone.
A couple nights ago my friend Nik was so kind as to take me out for a motorbike lesson. It’s how most people get around here, and though I’ve traveled to SE Asia many times, I’ve always been afraid to try (you may not know but I also just recently learned to drive a car!).
At the same time, I noticed how much this limits me, especially just with fun exploration and traveling roads for miles and seeing things I’d never see without being self-propelled by scooter.
At the beginning of our lesson, I was antsy. I’d already been practicing a bit and I just wanted to dive right in and hit the road already! I felt impatient, and yet my friend insisted— I needed to learn the basics first. Turning, stopping, picking up speed, reversing, and even knowing how to turn the scooter off and on properly.
After I did about 247 turns in my hotels parking lot, Nik said we were ready to hit the road. HOORAY! FINALLY! Let’s do this!
We ventured to a place with less traffic so I could practice going up and down the road. I was scared but excited and made the teeny tiny trip back and forth a couple times before Nik presented me with the next challenge– going up a hill the other way to a spot of the road that was unfamiliar to me.
OH HOW I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS!
I was scared. I felt a little tantrumy. But I just got comfortable with one part of the road, why do I have to go to another part? And I laughed as he pushed me and told me to just do it.
So I begrudgingly went once. And I hit some obstacles:
– A huge pile of dirt/gravel in the road
– A car that randomly parked right in front of me that I had to maneuver around into oncoming traffic
– At least 6 Balinese people honking at me for being kind of a ding-dong and not knowing what I was doing
But I made it back to Nik, unscathed. Then he told me to DO IT AGAIN!
“UGGG NO!!! But there’s a big pile of dirt in the road!” I told him. He said, “Go around it.”
I stomped my feet and didn’t want to do it. He challenged me to just do it anyway and to come back saying I did it. Stubbornly, I did what he suggested. And I made it. And I can’t say I loved it, but I can say I’m happy I pushed myself.
So why the heck am I telling you this? Not just to give you a laugh at my expense though you are welcome to do so…
I say this becuase this is EXACTLY WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR BIZ RIGHT NOW!
Where are you metaphorically stomping your feet and not doing the thing you know you should do becuase it’s outside your comfort zone, or you’re scared?
Or where have you completely skipped the basics and tried to launch into something you’re not ready for yet?
Where are you not listening to your coach? Or are you being crazy enough to try to do it without one????
What might be possible for you if you just did the thing that you don’t exactly want to do right now but know will further what you say you want?
Did I want to drive up that road around that pile of dirt? NO! But I want the end result of being able to drive a scooter safely and with confidence.
So what’s YOUR scooter moment? What’s the thing you need to do to get the final result you want? You may not love the journey just as I didn’t…. but you just might love the result. This morning I borrowed a friend’s scooter and probably drove a whopping mile on it. But to me that’s progress.
What progress is possible for you in the next few days? And are you willing to just do it?
Post below and tell me what it is. I’m curious : )
Sending you soooooo much love from Bali!
xoxo,
Emily