Playing It Safe Is the Riskiest Move You'll Make

Time to let go of the safety that's been holding you back.

Thank you for listening!

Take this reflection into the silence, and I'll see you next time.

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Transcript

The trail stretched ahead, familiar now after months of riding these same loops. I knew every root, every rock, every subtle shift in gradient. But there it was again. That big dirt lip jutting from the slope like a dare.

A jump.

Not massive. Maybe a few feet of air at most. Kids half my age sailed over it without thinking, whipping as they jumped. But I rolled around it every single time, taking the easy line, telling myself I was being "smart" and "cautious."

The truth settled heavier each time I rode. I was not progressing anymore because I refused to leave the ground.

I'd never jumped as a kid. Never felt that weightless moment between launch and landing. Never learned that brief surrender to physics and faith. Now, at thirty seven, every cell in my body screamed against it. My hands gripped the bars tighter. My shoulders tensed. My speed scrubbed away just before the lip.

But watching those kids fly past, I realized something. They were not fearless. They were just willing to trade one kind of safety for another. The safety of staying small for the safety of trusting their abilities.

The jump demanded I trust what I'd built. The skills, the balance, the muscle memory earned through countless hours on these trails.

Next lap. Time to let go of the safety that's been holding me back.