As a little kid I had a fear of failing. I hated losing soccer games, board games, getting bad grades in school and overall being bad at something. I always wanted to be perfect in everything I did like riding a bicycle. The typical little kid bike situation is the little kids just got their training wheels off and they fell down and got right back up to try again. Not me, I was terrified of failing and falling off, so I never asked my parents to take my training wheels off. Where the average kids gets their training wheels off around 5 years old I was almost 8 years old and still had them on.
The day I got my training wheels off was the most terrifying day of my little kid life. I thought my dad was crazy to want to take my training wheels off. Why would my dad want to see me fail? I was scared. I remember sitting on the curb with my helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads like I was going to be shot out of a cannon, as my dad wheeled out my bike to the street. The little voice in my head kept shouting you’re going to fall! You’re going to get hurt! You’re going to fail! But as calmly as ever I got on the bike with no fear, until my dad started to put the bike into motion and I froze like a possum playing dead. The voice in my head still doubting started to drown out as I heard my dad start yelling, “petal, petal, petal” and then something clicked and I knew exactly what to do.
By the end of the day I was riding my bike with no training wheels like I had never had them in the first place. Looking back now makes me realize how the little moments in life are what builds you into who you are today. In the moment you might be scared to fail but failing helps you get stronger.
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You're right, Izzy, getting your training wheels off is such a formative memory! My experience was kind of traumatic too. My grandfather got mad at me for not picking up riding a bike quickly because he saw another girl my age do it in under an hour, so when I couldn't do the same he became very angry. :( But you're correct, those moments make you stronger. :)
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