My daughter is learning how to ride a bike without training wheels and mentioned to me while I was holding her upright that she was scared to fall. She was excited about the chance to graduate to the next level, but was focused on the what ifs. Any little wobble she made worse by thinking she was going to hurt herself. Even though I was there as her support she was focused on the potential pain of falling. I see this way too much in athletics and even with executives; they all want to go to the next level yet can’t stop focusing on failing. Mastering a new skill takes time, it takes courage to fall down, and it takes perseverance. As the saying goes “It’s like riding a bike” is once a skill is mastered it is yours forever. Your mind and body remember how to do it even when years have passed. The most important time in skill development is the time after you fall down and succeed on the next attempt. Once you do it once you now believe it is possible. Start looking at your next challenges as riding a bike for the first time; you may wobble, however once you find that balance you will take off.