Have you ever had an experience that so surprised you – and gave you such valuable insight about yourself – that it was a pivotal moment in your life?
This last week revealed one of those days for me.
We were in Estes Park, Colorado. A member of my extended family, who is an Ironman Competitor, decided to ride his bike the 11 miles up the dirt Old Fall River Road (starting elevation of 8558 feet) to the Alpine Center at the top (elevation of 11,796 for a net gain of 3,238 feet). Then he would bike back down the paved Trail Ridge Road to our cabin in Estes Park.
His dad had never gotten to actually view his biking runs – always having to just see him off at the beginning, perhaps catch a glimpse as he flashed by in the middle, then welcome him at the finish line.
But this time, it would be possible to follow his son on the entire trip. As a blessing to me, I got to ride along – and soon realized a great role for me would be to document the ride by taking videos with my phone. But it was difficult to stick my head and phone out the window as we drove or try to take the videos through the front windshield which was collecting bug spots.
So I did the creative solution – I took off my shoes, opened the sliding sunroof, stood on the seat and stood up through the opening. Now I had a straight, clear shot for all my filming! And since we were only driving 5 – 10 mph, it felt pretty safe.
In fact, it felt AMAZING!! The scenery was breathtaking! The delight in capturing the bike ride on video was thrilling! But what completely surprised me was the JOY in my SOUL!!
When I first took the DISC Assessment in my 20’s, my I-Style (the fun-loving, party-looking-for-a-place-to-happen side) was very high, with the S-Style slightly lower. As I’ve gotten older, especially in the last 10 years or so, that High I-Style has gotten packed away in the basement and rarely gets to be part of my life.
But standing up through the sunroof, documenting that amazing bike ride, soaking up the sun and the scenery, feeling the crisp mountain air blow through my hair (I see why dogs love to hang their head out the window) was a total High I-Style experience and I loved every minute of it. The gift it was to my soul was indescribable!
All this to say, if you happen as well to have part of you that used to thrive and be expressed, but you have allowed it to be pressed down and ignored, I want to encourage you to find ways to let it blossom again.
My new goal is to set up a High I-Style activity every week and enjoy it thoroughly! And to nurture that important side of myself.
And BTW – YES – I realize I broke the “Wear Your Seatbelt At All Times” rule… and I do NOT recommend you try the above activity yourself… but the experience taught me something incredibly important and insightful.
QUESTION: Have you ever realized you had packed away an important part of your personality or temperament? What steps did you take to bring it back out? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.
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