Note: If you want to read all the lessons, click on the category: Making Big Things Happen

If you read the last entry, you can see that I’m afraid I won’t be a good enough cyclist to make the trip from Grand Rapids to Chicago.  In my experience, fear is a big reason that people don’t try to make things happen.  They stop before they’ve even started.  Let’s go to our examples:

The hopeful baker: What if my cake doesn’t rise?  What if it tastes bad?  What if people are allergic to it?

The aspiring basketball star:  What if I look like a clown?  What if I blow the winning shot?

There are all kinds of fears and since it’s such a big reason why people don’t try to make big things happen, we will talk about it more than once.  But let’s look at my fear on that trip to Holland.

My doctor says that I am strong enough to make this trip.  My long-distance cycling friends tell me I am strong enough to make this trip.  There’s a really good chance that I can successfully make this trip.  But honestly, it’s my fear of not being strong enough that makes me so upset.  This goes back–as I think I’ve told you–to my childhood, when I was born eight weeks early and was very sick as a baby and toddler.  Even though it’s no longer true, it still rules my thoughts.  I am weak.

Another example is Tillie, our German Shepherd.  She is big 80 pound German Shepherd, and you know what she’s afraid of?

Cats.  I’m serious.  She’s really really afraid of cats.  The vet thinks she was maybe swiped by a cat when she was a puppy.  We have a cat.  His name is Fig

Mr. Fig thinks he’s a pretty big deal.  But he’s only 12 pounds!  And guess what?  When we adopted him from the shelter, he didn’t have front claws, either.  Not really a match for a big German shepherd like Tillie.

So, when Tillie encounters Fig, there shouldn’t be any problem at all.  But when she sees Fig, she does this:

That’s because instead of seeing a 12 pound cat with no claws, Tillie is seeing this:





There are fears you can do something about and there are fears you can’t do anything about.  There is no promise that your cake will taste delicious to every person.  There is no guarantee that you will make your move and get beyond your opponent without fail.  But when you can identify what your fear is, then you can do something about it to make yourself better prepared.

After my disaster on the bike ride, I asked experienced cyclists what they do when they ‘hit the wall,’ or get to a point where they want to quit.  Here’s what they said.

“Think about the end and you’ll be motivated.”

“Stop every five or ten miles whether you are feeling tired or not.”

“Stop looking at the time and the odometer.”

“Make sure you eat a little something every five or ten miles.”

“Make sure you are warm enough.”

“You will always have times when you will feel this way.  It’s okay.  Just try to keep pedalling.”

Then I asked my sister, who was a champion swimmer when we were kids.  She said,

“Pay attention to your breathing.  Breathe deeply and get into a rhythm.”

“You have no reason to believe that you can’t make this trip, so begin with the firm belief than you can make this trip.”

And I do feel better.  I feel like I have some good strategies.

So… what are you afraid of?  Be honest.  You can’t work on your fears unless you know what they are.