Life lessons from a five year old on wheels

The other week, I went roller skating with Richard and the kids at a brilliant place called GYSO in Shoreham, set in a disused Parcel Force depot.

We were all rather wobbly on our feet, but Trinity (5) found it the hardest going. However, she was determined to get round the rink, to do it mostly on her feet (and not her bum!) and to do it in style. Her tenacity really impressed me, and she came out with a few comments that I thought were rather pertinent to life in general and an Onwards and Upwards blog post, so here they are:

• “How does she do that?” she asked, marvelling at her sister gliding along. Without pausing, she then followed on, “I know, she just DOES it, doesn’t she?” ‘Just do it’ has been the famous Nike slogan for an aeon. But that’s probably because its strength is in the simplicity of its message – don’t faff about, don’t question yourself, just bloody well get up and DO IT! Captured here by a little scrap of a girl in massive roller boots.

• “I’ve done it once, and that means I can do it twice!” she announced on completing her first lap of the rink. It can be good to sit back and relax after an achievement, but sometimes it’s a golden opportunity to strike whilst the iron is hot and capitalise on the momentum you’ve created.

• “I think it’s easier when I just look at where I’m going and don’t think too much about how I’m doing it.” Similar to the first one, but I thought it showed some great insight. It’s so easy to get so caught up in the ‘hows’ that we lose sight of the bigger picture – the place we want to get to. To get there, we need to keep focused, and not be looking down at our feet, so to speak. This is also the philosophy of Mike Dooley, author of the fabulous ‘Notes from the Universe’ (if you don’t already subscribe to these daily nuggets of email wisdom, Just Do It! Now! ;-D)

• (Having lunch at a cafe a little later): “I think I deserve a cake after all that hard work skating.” A girl after her mother’s heart. Don’t forget to recognise your achievements and celebrate them in some way, calorific or otherwise…

So, are YOU looking ahead at where you want to go, wobbling on your wheels or getting up after a crash landing? Want your wheels oiled, your path smoothed, or a refuel? Give me a call! 01903 244747 / 07929 764162