Thought Learning to Ride a Bike Was Hard? How About Learning to Steer Your Life

When I was a kid, my bicycle was my freedom. I remember riding my bike everywhere during the summer months–to swim practice, to picnics with friends, even around the lake. In fact, one year I bought an odometer and clocked over 1,200 miles that summer. Not bad for a 10-year-old on a three-speed!

Remember the first time you tried riding a bicycle? How did it feel? And what did you need to learn immediately in order to stay upright?

Riding a bicycle requires several skills, but most importantly balance and momentum. To have a successful experience, we first need to find our center of gravity (to keep our balance) — and then establish momentum to get us anyplace. By paying attention to our subtle shifts and movements, we learn to control our speed and direction and become our own throttle and steering wheel.

While physical definitions of balance and momentum can be applied to riding a bicycle, the metaphorical definitions can be applied to our personal lives.

Finding balance in life is an ongoing quest. After 20 years of writing about finding better balance in our life activities and relationships, I was surprised to discover that balance is a natural state. And returning to that natural balance — in all areas of our lives — is the…