Try, try again

Three years ago, we went sledding in Utah.

It wasn’t our first sledding experience, but it was the first time we had gone to this particular place. You had to reserve a time and buy tickets. They supplied the snow covered hill, tubes to ride on, and even a conveyer belt to pull you to the top. We went with high expectations.

All eight of us got our tubes and waited for our turn. We went down, one at a time, the way we had always done it.

I think I would describe our first trips down the hill as underwhelming. Slow. Maybe even boring. As I watched Brian coming down, he looked like he was going in slow motion. A couple of times, he stopped—mid-hill! He was pushing with his arms and bouncing the tube to try and get it going again. After what seemed like an eternity, we were all at the bottom again.

Why was this place so crowded? I couldn’t believe how overrated it was.

Nevertheless, we decided to try something different. We would go together, in groups. We separated in two groups of four, and the ride got exponentially better! The third time up, we went with all of us in one massive tube circle. It was the BEST! We were flying down the hill, screaming and laughing as we went. For the next hour or so, we kept trying new ways of holding the tubes, tweaking our positions on the tubes, and just anything we could adjust to make our sledding trip unforgettable. It worked. We had so much fun that we now have a new tradition year after year.

Can you imagine if we had left after the first run down the hill?

People have a tendency to try things once and then make a judgment about it. It was either amazing or terrible, right? Think about food you hate. How many times have you tasted it? Have you tried cooking it different ways or paired with a variety of foods? What about people you claim you can’t stand—-do you stick to your first impression? Or is there room for a different opinion? Is it possible that you were wrong about that person? Are you willing to try again? How about pickle ball? Did you try it one time and immediately decide you’re terrible and refuse to play again? Can you maybe try playing with a different person, at another location, or maybe hold the racket differently?

So much that we do in our lives takes effort. I’m not talking about a little effort exerted one measley time…I mean effort given over and over and over again. Keep trying. Keep going. Change things up, and try again.

Don’t quit after the first lame ride down the hill. I promise you, it gets better.