A slight push, encouragement, and freedom
Written by Anthony Demangone
It was a bright, sunny day. We call those "Park Days" in our house.
But this one was a bit different for my son, Briggs.
The evening before, I had removed the training wheels from his bicycle. Â As I loaded the car, I could see he was excited. And maybe a bit nervous.
I gave him a few tips, helped him get on the bike, and gave a slight push.
As you can see from the picture, all went well. Even with a few crashes, Briggs was quickly on his way to becoming a 5-year-old daredevil. (Here's a video (Vimeo) of Briggs riding.)
A few words of encouragement, a slight push, and Briggs took over from there. It is hard to explain how I felt when I saw him after his first ride. He was proud. Excited. Happy. And rarin' to go again.
Although he couldn't really express it, I think he liked the freedom. It was perhaps the first time where he could go where he wanted, as fast as he wanted...at least until he crashed.Â
I think we can all relate to that. Â
In a sense, every new employee is learning to ride a bike. Words of encouragement, a slight push in the right direction, and letting go. How often do we do that with each other?
Â