The Daily Bones

Sep/11

2

Don’t Look Up

View Comments

For those afraid of heights (myself included), the general rule while up high is “don’t look down”. It’s a rather simple concept; if you try to ignore your altitude and avoid the thought of terror associated with the fall from your position, you’ll maintain your composure. Look down, beware the onset of panic.

Through the first 2 months of my foray into recreational cycling, I’ve adapted this mantra with a slight variation: “don’t look up”. For the tough stretches – the steeper hills of central park, the series of climbs in Palisades Park along the Hudson in New Jersey, and through strong winds on the water – I don’t look up. Upon meeting challenging conditions, I gather myself, mentally prepare, and plan far enough ahead to avoid major obstacles. From then on my eyes are on the 5-7ft directly in front of me, using the brim of my helmet as a shield to the view ahead; the hard work that lies before the finish.

The applications go far beyond athletics. Whether it’s a 2 week sprint to push the new iteration of Schoolbinder, or trying to digest a large amount of material for an exam, or pushing through recovery from surgery; the best way I’ve found to get to the finish line successfully is to have a rough idea of the requirements to accomplish what seems like an insurmountable task and don’t look up.

I find it works best for larger chunks of work that can’t seem to be broken down to pieces less than a week or two in length, and with the appropriate amount of preparation. This isn’t to be taken as hard truth, but more as a guide to maintain focus. You can and need to resurface to check your progress and reassess – but keeping head down will avoid the procrastination and doubt that often encroaches when constantly checking progress.

· ·

blog comments powered by Disqus

>>