Thoughts from the Saddle: On Commitment

By Dr. Sarah Allen

I recently took up a new sport, mountain biking! Today I had my longest ride thus far, 16 miles. Riding through the forest on rough terrain with rocks and roots is much different than road. I also experienced my first crash, but I'm ok. Mountain biking, as scary and dangerous as it is, has been good for me on so many levels.

Riding all alone, todo solita, in nature allows me time to think. I reflected on my fall and what went wrong. I realized that one, l do not yet have sufficient skills, but most importantly, I didn't commit. I considered the meaning of this word. I thought about my amazing parents who have been married for nearly 50 years, about the dairy farm I grew up on in Minnesota, how they worked that farm day after day for decades like oxen, the both of them and we kids did, too, little baby oxen.

Our farm thrived and so did our family because of their commitment to it, to each other, and to our family. Unquestionably my family is the strongest fiber of my being, the root of my soul, to which I would give my life. And in that two-second snapshot of my fall, I saw it all.

Commitment should be applied to every aspect of life, whether it's family, a relationship, career, a lifestyle change, or just making it down a steep rocky descent on your bike. If you don't have the courage, the confidence, or the tenacity to commit to whatever it is you are striving to achieve, you will inevitably fall face in the dirt.