I recently was given a pair of roller skates, and they’ve been hell on wheels. I did not ask for these skates, and they were skates I did not want. Still, they were given to me. Roller skating is terrifying. Just getting to stand up is a task, let alone moving around. They are uncomfortable and wear on the backs of my heels. After the first couple tries, I fall eight or ten times. I start to move in a direction and my knees lock up. I don’t know how to stop, and I hit the wall because I don’t quite know how to turn.
New skates forced upon me, I have lost my identity. I am sore and bleeding from falling, and a simple thing like walking is near impossible. I could give up on skating and live a life on the ground where things are comfortable and force myself to believe that I am the same person I was before I was given skates. But falling and being uncomfortable with skates is all part of the metamorphosis occurring and being on the ground and feeling comfortable slows the process down. If I don’t practice, I’ll continue to fall, and I’ll continue to bruise.
Learning a new skill is challenging enough, but a skill that you never planned on learning in the first place can be impossible. But hey, isn’t that just life? There are so many moments in our lives, in our business, in our work, where we are forced to go through growing pains. Plans we didn’t foresee, a shift in the marketplace, something completely out of our control. But it’s these moments where we truly find out what we’re made of. We can either sink or become flexible enough to embrace this change.
Right now, I wouldn’t call myself a skater, but I can skate. I’ve learned to at least go forward, and I can turn without freaking out, but don’t expect any alley-oops or figure-8’s. I’m just happy I’ve stopped falling for the most part. That’s impressive, considering a month ago, I was completely comfortable without skates in my life.
We are all given our roller skates in life. For some, it’s the loss of a loved one, and for others it’s as simple as a new co-worker we are on the fence about. It’s nothing new, it’s simply the deck we’ve all been dealt, and it’s important to remember you’re not being singled out. Everyone suffers in the beginning of a transition. Everyone. I’m here to tell you it’s okay.

We all cycle through denial, anger, sadness and acceptance many times when we are learning something new. Just experiencing these feelings will help the process go smoother with time. Sounds pretty passive, huh? Well, exactly. Growing and learning isn’t something you do, it’s something that happens to you. It’s frustrating I know, because I just want to be there, at the end, ready to conquer the world, but really the closest I’ll ever come to controlling the outcome is to just relax and trust the process.
So I’m going to keep practice skating. I still fall from time to time, but I keep getting back up. I still keep taking risks even when they seem doomed from the start, I still keep growing even when I think I’ve seen it all, and I still keep dreaming even it seems impossible. How I tackle a new challenge is what makes me special and right now at this very moment in time, I’m going to continue to skate because it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

The Video Guy has recently been forced to learn some new things, and while it wasn’t actually skating, it was still pretty painful as growing pains tend to be.  How do you embrace change – wanted or not? Comment below or email Andrew directly.