Why is it that 2024 seems so daunting already? Maybe it’s just me (actually I’m sure it’s not just me), but the combo of global awfulness blobbing over into this year, with more horrendousness headed our way is making me want to move somewhere quiet and get a job driving a bookmobile. Honestly, doesn’t that sound lovely?
Big picture woes aside, I’m finding it hard to figure out my direction and goals for 2024. I got my word– COLLECTIVE– and am clear about committing to friends and family, prioritizing relationships and activities with the groups that sustain and constitute a big part of who I am. But, I feel both 1) the need to change what I’ve been doing (in particular, spend more time on physical activities and plain old exercise); and 2) that I’m finding it really hard to implement the changes that I think I want.
I’m not looking for solutions to this problem or advice here. We all know all the tricks:
- find an exercise buddy!
- find an exercise accountability buddy!
- lay out exercise clothes the night before!
- go for a ride/run/walk/swim first thing in the morning so it’ll be done and you can relax!
- etc. etc. and so forth and so on.
Thinking about tricks, though, reminded me of Danny MacAskill, the legendary trials and downhill cyclist. You name a solid surface on the planet, he’s ridden it (and likely fallen off it; there’s no free lunch in this sport).
A few years ago, MacAskill rode a rocky downhill route on The Slabs on the Scottish Isle of Skye. Just watching the video immersed me in a range of emotions: fear, uncertainty, surprise, and also joy. I felt them in part because MacAskill conveyed that he was feeling them too, as he rode down that precarious, scary, thrilling, glorious mountain. You can read my original post from January 2021 here, but here’s my TL;DR list of how to navigate life when it gets gnarly, inspired by his ride:
- Some experiences we embark on, or confront on our way, are going to be scary. Period.
- Be ready to go slow. Plan the slow-downs, even.
- Have really good brakes (e.g. listen to that inner voice or friend who says, “nah, give this one a miss”).
- Draw on skills from different experiences and areas of training to get through.
- In that rare moment of beauty and grace, let yourself be with it.
- But, what looks beautiful and effortless from the outside will often be staccato and exhausting from the inside. Notice this, too.
- Sometimes, there’s no place to hide. Once you’ve committed, use your skills and experience to get you down the hill.
- Life occasionally demands some serious body english from us, so be ready for some twists and turns.
- Don’t forget to celebrate when you finish something.
Just rewatching the video made me realize that progress is possible and that progress is possible only with a lot of work. But progress IS possible. Let’s see if I can bump and screech and occasionally glide my way into a new activity routine in 2024. Leaving the trick and downhill riding to others, perhaps…
Here’s MacAskill’s Slabs ride. Enjoy.
