Unicycling
This is part of a series where I post stuff I wrote for my HBS 2+2 app, but think is kind of cool.
Learning to unicycle is about learning to be comfortable while constantly on the brink of failing. Olin has a unicycling club, and after two years of watching my friends zip around on the one wheeled contraptions, I decided that I wanted to learn. It took me a few days, but I learned to go a few yards before falling off.
From that point out, unicycling becomes a mental battle. As soon as you think, “I am about to fall,” you fall. As soon as you think you’re done, you are. You have to learn to not give up, and decide, “I am not going to fall.” There is nothing fundamentally different about unicycling a mile than twenty feet, it’s just a matter of confidence.
As I practiced unicycling, I could go farther and farther at once. The difference was partially better balance, but partially more tenacity. When I lost my balance, I didn’t give up and fall to my feet, I swiveled my hips and fought to correct my center of gravity. Every extra inch I went came as much as a result of comfort with instability as better balance. If you’re afraid of failing, that’s all you’ll ever do.
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