Spinning Out of Control

"Just climb on..."

I muttered to myself, as I broke my vow that I would never ever "spin" as a form of exercise.  The whole notion of sitting on a bike that goes nowhere, while being yelled at by strangers, struck me as uncomfortable and incredibly weird.  (Plus, the die-hard "spinners" wear a lot of spandex, which always creeps me out.)  Inspired by the fact that it was a charity event for one of our clients, I had signed up for an hour of spinning and then tried to punk out of it at the last minute.  ("I'll just pay for the bike and read magazines on the treadmill instead," I insisted.)  But, compelled by Jamie, the "queen of spin" at THE GYM (who kindly adjusted my bike for me), I spun -- for the full 60 minutes!  No vomiting...no flying over the handlebars...no fleeing the room, pretending I left the stove on at home.  In fact, I liked it so much that I might even buy a pair of those nifty clip-on shoes and spin more often.  I quite enjoyed the music and the sense of teamwork as a bunch of sweaty people pushed themselves to the limit and pretended they were en route to somewhere (other than weight loss and fitness).  The mood was jovial.  The people were nice.  And I felt a huge sense of pride and accomplishment when it was done. 

What does this have to do with anything, you might ask?  Well, it's all part of my 2008 plan to try something new, scary, and maybe even unpleasant -- every month of the year.  In corporate office-speak, we used to call it "stepping outside the comfort zone" or "setting a stretch goal," and it usually involved falling backwards off a table or being led around blindfolded at an offsite meeting or committing to some ridiculous financial forecast that one will never achieve. 

But it means something different in my new entrepreneurial world (which is not so new.  theONswitch will be five years old next year).  Pushing onself to take risks, try new things, and even (perish the thought) make horrible mistakes is a critical part of getting better and evolving -- professionally and personally.  Some of those things will be truly awful, and I'll say, "That was interesting...but I'll never do it again."  And some will make me stronger and smarter. 

I am even starting to schedule the "One New Thing" each month in 2008 -- as I would any business objective.  I'm sure my muscles will ache the next day (literally and figuratively).  It will all be totally worth it.  (But don't expect to see me in spandex any time soon.)