Motivational Monday - You can do more than you think

It was last year while camping for Labor Day Weekend that my brother Darin said to me, "You need to take those training wheels off that bike." He was referring to my son's bike, of course. One of them was bent almost all the way up. The other hardly touched the ground and when my son was riding, he wasn't really using either one of them. The only time you could see him lean on the training wheel was when taking off or coming to a stop. He would just lean over and let the training wheel catch him instead of using his feet.



I told Darin that I wouldn't take them off until my son said he was ready. I meant it, too. Why bother unless he was going to try to ride without them? "Fine," Darin said. Then, he walked over to my son's bike and bent the other training wheel up some. I thought of stopping him. I even thought of bending it back down while Darin wasn't looking. I guess it was mommy-protective instincts kicking in. I didn't want him to wreck and get hurt, but I let it go to see how things went.



To my astonishment, my son kept on riding that bike just as if the training wheels were still on the ground. He never wrecked. He didn't even wobble. I was worrying for nothing.



Well, just two weeks later, he let us take them off. (He wasn't really using them anyway.) And, away he went without a moment's pause. My chest swelled with pride. I felt tears. Look at what he had accomplished! I should have known he could do it!



His accomplishment got me to thinking about myself. What things can I do that I haven't given myself enough credit for? What things can I do that I have been too scared to try? How about you?



Let's really reach out there and see what we can do. It's a lesson Darin taught me and my son showed me. I'm sure we are capable of more than we think!