Old Thoughts = New Roadblocks

I hope you have never been through a traumatic experience. If you have, however, you probably will agree with me: Sometimes, our old thoughts keep us stuck. They fill our heads with lies such as, “You’re not good enough;” “You can’t;” “You’ll never get anywhere;” “It’s too scary;” or insert your least favorite reoccurring thought.

We’re approaching two years of a global pandemic. Where I live, masks are still common, but it’s mostly difficult to tell things such as the pandemic are still happening. I quit keeping score of the data long ago; I don’t watch the news (and feel better for it). I still hear phrases such as “trying times.” Yeah, for sure! Next week, for example, I plan to go to our main campus for the first time since February 2020. There are colleagues I’ve not seen since or before that time. How wild is that?

In 2020 while I was still on social media, I kept hearing similar phrases. They carried over, and people could not wait for 2021. If I’m being honest, 2021 was more challenging for me personally for different reasons.

But, you know what? There were blessings, too. Covid traffic was incredible. I joke about it now because it seems like everyone that could not drive back then are trying to make up for it in the time now. Family time was incredible! I terribly miss the togetherness and walks we had during that time. Also, it was during this pandemic that my love or rekindling of my love of motorized two-wheeled vehicles relit.

Before Thanksgiving, my eldest and I completed a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and earned our motorcycle license. I truly recommend everyone complete that course; it will make you a better driver. Furthermore, let’s all commit to putting down our phones when driving. It’s just not worth it! We had 8 out of 12 pass; we saw a crash, which was scary. Thankfully, the person was okay. I didn’t realize how exhausting the course would be.

Granted, I had my booster the day before class, which thankfully went better than the first two. I was tired. I estimated being on the bike upwards to 12 hours over the weekend. That’s a long time after going 35 years or so (40 if talking about geared bikes)! On the test, it was incredible the thoughts that came up.

Revisit that first paragraph and add a few more. It felt like I couldn’t do anything right on the bike, that I kept making mistakes. To add to it, I felt pressure for my son on top of the old thoughts rolling around in my own head. I truly turned to prayer. If I’m completely being honest, I could barely watch him ride. It is just wild how test anxiety creeps into our brains. I help other people deal with this in my day job, but it surprised me.

Clearly, there were variables adding to things such as old fears of making mistakes or the inevitable what-ifs that entered into the equation. (By the way, have you ever noticed those are not geared positively!?) I sincerely felt like I rode the worst during the test than I did all weekend.

But, you know what? My son and I persevered and earned our license together. Since then, we’ve sat on many bikes, trying to find that El Dorado (see that post). While 2021 has been challenging for me personally, that does not mean there have not been blessings, too. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned (and relearned again).

1. People can tell you how to live your life all day long, but they can’t actually live it for you. Do you stay where you’ve always been, or do you push past the fear and go somewhere else? You get to decide.
2. Sometimes, the path that doesn’t make sense logistically can get you to even a better place than you imagined. I had different plans for college, but had I pursued those, I would not have met my wife, and we would not have had our children or the adventures we have been fortunate enough to have. See Proverbs 16:9.
3. Oftentimes, our hard times happen to us to help someone else get through their hard times. There’s a church-ese saying: “Our tests become our testimonies.” I think that’s true . . . if we can get out of our own ways.
4. Sometimes, our dreams shift. That doesn’t mean the old ones are dead or aren’t good. It just may mean that the universe’s “pause button” has been pressed. It may mean simply “not right now.”

If we allow ourselves to take a different perspective on our circumstances, we might be able to see the picture differently (remember the old hidden image art pieces?). That doesn’t mean things will be easy; in fact, you can almost bet they won’t be. What I’m saying is I think more times than not, it’s worth it to push through the fears. If you remain afraid, maybe you won’t graduate. Maybe you won’t start college. Maybe you won’t get that motorcycle license. Or, maybe you can insert your own situation. You get to decide.

If you find that you dreams has shifted or the pause button has been pressed, remember that there may very well be a reason. Those new dreams may just enrich your life more fully than you ever expected. Put out a BOLO (be on the lookout) for those old thoughts, and don’t let them block you from a better future.

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