GUEST BLOG POST WITH @DeborahRaeCota
“Get Back On”
Hey there! Hi there! Ho There!
I am taking a day off from Blogging and letting my pal Deb take over. Seems a recent mishap in one of my classes inspired her to rethink her life and she wanted to share her thoughts on learning to pick up and move on.
Enjoy and I will talk to you all tomorrow!
Smooches,
Brooklyn Fit Chick
My name is Deborah Rae Cota and I am the author of The Dante Chronicles (The Kindred, The Brotherhood; CreateSpace Publications). You can learn more about me and my books at http://www.dantechronicles.com, join me and my fans on Facebook (The Kindred), follow my blogs at GoodReads.com and Amazon Author Pages or catch a tweet now and then by following me @DeborahRaeCota. Cheerz!
I’d finally had a decent nights sleep after two previous on-and-off nights of tossing and turning, when I received a startling message from my best-friend who is a spin instructor in Brooklyn, that went something like this...
“Okay, just taught a class. I always tell people ‘don’t worry — you can’t fall off the bike’...A woman fell off tonight.
She became wedged between the seat and the handle bars. Had to run out to the gym floor, and yell for help and it took a nurse and three trainers to pull her as she was so panicked and would not let go. She either slipped out of the seat and felt out of control and then panicked, or she somehow just dropped.
Her feet were in the stirrups and her knees were facing down so all of her weight was on her knees; she was leaning entirely on the handlebars. I tried to get her to pull herself up to the seat, but she kept yelling, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!”
I considered calling 911 but knew it would take too much time, aggravate her more and she really needed to get up right away or she would hurt herself so I opened the door and called out for the staffs help. Trainers came running, and a woman who was a registered nurse came to aid as well.
The woman on the bike had a panic attack of some sort, and could not pick herself up on her won but with a little help she was up and in her seat which instantly calmed her down. It happened so fast; all within 3 minutes, and then she was fine and even walked out on her own.”
First off, I was pissed because the cyber-Gods couldn’t see to getting this message to me when I could have offered to console my friend after it happened, not that I could have really done anything but listen since I am in California, and she, in New York,...but, still,...I could tell that she needed an ear, no matter how far away it was.
The longer I stewed over this, and re-read her message over and over, it got me to thinking (which is really not always a good thing...it can be, 1) dangerous, 2) costly and 3) a helluva lot of work). For the last two days, I was a lot like the lady that fell off the bike.
I am a writer.
I love saying that, so I am going to say it again.
I am a writer. Currently, I have my second book about to drop, and I am working on the research and prep for number three and four...but I also have a lot of prostitution to do, also.
Now, hold on! Quit gasping, and get your mind out of the gutter...by prostitution I mean, promoting myself and my work. Selling my wares. Whoring myself to anyone and everyone who will buy...and I hate it! I hate talking about myself. I hate telling people ‘Look at me! Look what I can do!’ So, to get it out of the way, I pushed it all to the front of my to-do list, and tried to plow through, head on.
And I failed. Miserably.
Everything I wrote was weak and unimportant; mere thin crusts of what really should be written about my work, with expressions that wouldn’t survive at eleven, let alone five, on any given sound system. Later that evening, completely frustrated and without a single stroke recorded on my laptop, I sat and talked to my support system...my sister. After asking a few questions, she got to the root of the problem, and in no uncertain terms told me, “Listen to your gut...start doing what you know you need to do. The rest will fall into place.”
So I did...and suddenly the creative flow returned. Just like that woman, I fell off of my “proverbial” bike, but with some assistance, I was able to get back on. And I feel all the stronger for it.
This is true for so many things we encounter in life. Day to day events knock us down, set us back and make us feel guilty and stressed for failing ourselves; sometimes this even occurs at the hands of someone else in our lives, but it’s our choice to stand up, and fight back...and if for whatever reason we need help, we have an option, a choice, to ask for it.
If you are on, or start a healthy eating plan and one day run short on time and eat at McDonalds...Pick yourself up and get back on that bike!
If you start, or are on an exercise program and decide to take a day off to sit around eating Dorito’s and watching Dynasty reruns...Take that needed day off, and then get back on that bike!
If you decide to have drinks with your no-good-for you ex and they try to finagle their way back into your life after you swore you would never go back....Run to the nearest exit, and then get back on that bike!
If you have a plan, any plan, or a dream that is so palpable you can taste it with a thought, and you suddenly fall or misstep...don’t stress, don’t worry, don’t stop to think about it, don’t hesitate, and don’t wait for a better day or time....Just get up and get back on that bike. And if you need help, just reach out...there is always someone there who is willing to listen and help.
Thanks for reading my post today!
