10 Reasons Why Life Is like Riding a Bike

1. You need balance. If you lean too far to one side, you'll fall off. Regarding character traits, Maimonides writes "that a person should follow the golden 'path of the middle' and not lean towards one extreme or the other." It's important to always pay attention to where you're leaning.
2. Get back up again! It's not falling down that determines your worth; it's whether or not you get back up.
3. In the beginning you stumble, but with more experience you can really get far! Life is a series of learning from your mistakes. That's how you learned to walk and talk. And it's how you grow in life.
4. If you look at the ground instead of looking up ahead, you'll lose your balance and crash. In life, it's easy to live in your own little bubble, consumed with yourself. You not only disconnect from the world, you ultimately disconnect from yourself. Look up and outside yourself. Connect to the world outside of you. Only then can you flourish.
5. When the road throws you a curve, go with it! When a turn is coming up, you lean with the curve. You don't fight it and go the other way. Life sometimes throws you curves too, and in order to remain on top, you need to go with the flow. If a tragedy happens, accept its pain, and go with God's larger plan which is for the ultimate good!
6. A bike helps you get to where you need to go. Some people ride bikes just for the thrill of it. And some people believe that life just for the thrills. They don't realize they have places to get to. A bike is a tool – it's not the end goal. You're supposed to get to someplace with your life. Be clear on your destination, and if you use it well, you can really get far!
7. A bike doesn't move on its own. Life and bicycles need people to operate them. Without a person behind the handlebar, guiding and making choices, it just won't go anywhere!
8. When you get really good, you can do wheelies! After you've been riding a bike for so long, you can start doing the special stuff. Life is like that also. Once you get the hang of who you are and where you're going, you can pop some big miracles too!
9. Bicycling gives you muscles. Life toughens you up, especially if you ride up hills. Riding down a hill may be fun and exciting, but only riding up the hill strengthens your muscles.
10. You can't do it forever. Some people wish they could live forever. Some people believe it. But just like riding a bike, your body eventually wears out, and you need to go home. The important thing is that you enjoy the ride, and you get to where you need to go!

This article originally appeared on http://www.ttt.org.il