I love to ride my mountain bike. Especially on local trails.
My boys and I have a few that we like to hit on the weekends. They range in difficulty from beginner to advanced depending on what trail you are on.
One thing there is no shortage of are steep hills. Hills filled with rocks, small tree stumps and an assortment of other obstacles sticking up from the dirt.
Sometimes you are lucky, and get to enjoy riding down, feeling the wind in your hair. Kinda makes you feel like a 10 year old kid again.
But what goes down, must go back up.
And that feeling is quite different.
Especially toward the end of a long hot and humid ride (especially trying to keep up with your teenage boys).
A couple of months back, on a particularly hot and humid day another mountain biker saw me getting off my bike getting ready to walk up the hill. He shouted from the top and said “Attack The Hill”, like your life depended on it.
When I got home that night I got to thinking.
What did he mean? Attack the hill! I was a little mad. Who did he think he was??
I had pushed it hard that day. I was tired. Needed a break. I deserved the opportunity to walk.
And…
That hill was just too damn big.
But, sometimes when we are the most tired and worn out we need to dig deeper. Find that motivation to keep going, a little more and a little more.
When we overcome a difficult task or a hardship it makes us stronger.
Martial Arts like Tang Soo Do teach our students to get over the hills and the obstacles in their lives.
That nothing worth earning comes easy.
We learn the best lessons when we are out of our comfort zone.
Doing things like breaking a board, learning a new jump kick, or form can be frustrating. It can be your child’s hill. They may sit at the bottom and think they will never get to the top.
But, that is why we train. To get over those hills and make us better and stronger form the inside out.
So when life gets tough, don’t stall, or stop.
Make the decision to attack that hill. Get at it with everything you have.
Push yourself harder and surround yourself with people that not only want to succeed but will push you there.
Believe me, you will be happy you did!