Before you win, you begin

A view of Sweetbrier from "My Life at Sweetbrier"

Have you ever noticed the hardest thing to do is to begin? It could be you’re writing a book and you’re dreading the beginning. What if you fail? Remember, before you win, you need to begin. No matter what project you’d like to start, you must first overcome your fears and plunge ahead.

Let’s talk about something from my childhood. You may remember I was born with cerebral palsy, which made walking difficult. My single passion was to become a champion horseback rider. In order to reach my goal, I’d need to start. What happened in the beginning?  My legs got tired and I’d slide off my pony, Little Man. Guess what I hated most? Falling off for no reason. It made me feel better if Little Man did something unexpected and I fell off. But just sliding off because my legs felt tired, was horrible, in my mind. One thing Little Man loved to do was relax. In fact, he relaxed so much, he’d lie down with me on his back! At first, I couldn’t tell when he was getting ready for his nap. But, finally, I noticed he walked slower and slower right before he’d lie down. Hooray,problem one was solved.

What happened when I began learning to trot on Little Man? Visualize a little ball bouncing up and down. That’s what it felt like to me. It seemed like forever before I learned to rise and sit, or post, in rhythm with Little Man. But it was another tiny victory along the long road to success. more on this post, please click:

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copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne