I met a friend this week over coffee to discuss a tiny project we have been planning for a while now. But over the next few weeks, we are planning to actually get the ball rolling. So as this conversation went on, I started to go off the rails. I started getting concerned over random things. At one point, he stopped me and asked me what was happening. And that’s when I realised I was having pregame jitters!

This experience reminded me of a Seth Godin piece I read a long time ago. It was about skateboarding but more specifically, it was about this important step called Dropping in.

 

Dropping in on a skateboard is how most skateboarders will enter bowls, skateparks, and vert ramps. Being able to drop in allows skateboarders to go from standing on the edge, straight into skateboarding with a lot of speed down the ramp. Once you drop in, you will be riding very fast, and you’ll need to feel comfortable with riding and guiding your skateboard.

 

The thing is when we decide to learn skateboarding, we are likely to fall and get hurt– multiple times. A closer to home analogy would be learning to ride a bicycle. That is a fact. It’s really really fine to opt out. No shame in that.

But once the decision is made, it becomes a commitment knowing very well that things might go south. Because once we drop in, we are engaged with gravity and there is no point in turning back now. These pregame jitters are nothing but good old resistance taking shape. The key, I believe, is to accept the powerlessness of our situation regarding things outside our control. These feelings have no purpose in our journey. They, at best, are a distraction as unnecessary energy is spent in trying to overcome them. Instead, we can make a commitment to the things that are in our control like practice and the process.

There’s also another skateboarding term called chickenfoot which may be of relevance here.

Chickenfoot is a very common problem when skateboarding. When you land, both feet won’t land on the board. Maybe only one lands on the board, or maybe neither one.

 

This is like doing things half-way which in some cases, this can be more disastrous than non action.

So sometimes it is best to just drop in. To fully engage with gravity. To know there is no point in leaving space for any hesitation. And most importantly, let us remember to always have fun.

Peace and grace
Nikhil