Confidence LOST... an UNCOMMON lesson from Off-Road Motorcycling in El Salvador... || Vlog 60 ||

Oh, oh, oh no, oh no, oops. So welcome back to the vlog. If you're new here, well, I tell stories of my life riding around the world on a motorcycle. And if you've been following along, well, you know that I recently received my first official off-road training. and today is a lucky day because I was invited to put that training to test with the one and only Gatto. Gatto is here and we're gonna go out for a off-road ride. Hola Gatto! Gatto is well basically the king of everything and anything motorcycle related in El Salvador. Okay do you know which road we're gonna go on? What? Do you know which route you're gonna go on first? I think. Okay we're choosing between rios, mountains, one with many rocks. Although Gatto says that I can do them all. So Gatto and I are headed out to put my newly acquired skills to test. And spoiler alert, I did not do great. Neither on the motorcycle nor the filming of it. However, even though I mostly got defeated, today would turn out to be one of my most important lessons. Okay time is ABS off. Okay. And stand. Practice the turn. Okay. Braking. Okay. Careful with the car. Okay. Well I got through the first part no problem. Because that road was flat and easy. But it wouldn't be the case for long as we were about to take a shortcut. Straight up through the mountain. And for me, that meant a turn for the worst. Thank you. It's very ugly. Yes. Can I? What? You can do it Tammy. Yes. Well I started off confident. But that can get quickly crushed with some early errors. Why did I stop? That's the worst. Yes I'm okay. I think I'm making it harder in my head than it needs to be. I lose momentum. This is trouble. This girl twice in the first two minutes. I'm giving you more workout than you expected. One, two, three. Oops. Ah, that's rough. It gets worse. She doesn't trust me. But it's uglier. They seem doubtful. Only a little gas. But constant. Now I'm in the arena. I'm not doing well. It's very hot. Do I need to wait? It's okay? The camera does not show how steep this is. And how rocky. This is sand. It's so annoying that the camera doesn't show the steepness. He's so good. Oh my god. He makes it look so easy. Also, I'm in my head, which is not a good thing. I can't feel myself in my mind too much. I hate when I get like this. Because the more times I fail, the more I feel I can't do it. What? Can you do it? Yes, okay. Okay. What do you think? Okay. Sometimes I know that, but then I get scared. Still working on that. Okay. Uh-oh. Electronic. Okay. It's okay. Hesitate. And I get in my head. And then I stop. This was the moment when doubt became greater than belief. And moving forward just got harder. Ten? I think so. I think it's more a scratch. I'm not very good. After feeling like I couldn't go more than ten feet without falling, my confidence was in the dumps. And the thing is, I do know that success is entirely a mental game. However, once you've managed to lose confidence, it is not easy to regain. After so many times doing bad, it's hard for me to get back and to just keep going. I secretly hoped that Gato would wallow with me in my empty well of self-belief. I had hoped that he would agree and tell me that, in fact, I was in over my head. I don't know. What do you think? I'm afraid. I think maybe you take over. But like any extraordinary teacher, Gato would not submit. His faith in me never wavered. And as much as I pulled down, he would not drop his vision that I could do it. Until where? When is the part that's bad? Right here? Oh. To try. To do the bad part? A little. Gato's steady belief in me is what got me back in the saddle. Along with his insistence that, perhaps, I wasn't doing so bad after all. How much worse am I than you thought? No, no, no. In fact, you're doing well. In fact, you're doing well. What happens is that the first few times it's normal for that to happen to you. With a small motorcycle. With a big motorcycle, it's even more normal. Because you don't know how it's going to behave. Thank God you have patience. Learning to fall. Gato had a point. I was definitely learning to fall. And if that was the goal, well, I was nailing it. So, I leaned in. And by that, I mean I leaned on the faith that Gato had in me. And I continued until, at some point, I made a little progress. Woo! A little better. Very good. It's what... Aha! Yes, the same as walking with English. This felt better. But it's a little easier than the other part. No, not really. Really, no. In the other part, if you fall in a hole, it's difficult. If you follow the lines, it's not difficult. You followed all the correct lines. You feel like you're doing well. You feel like you're doing the right things. It helps you to keep doing the right things. Yes. Well, my GoPro battery died on that last section before pavement, but I didn't do so bad. And I managed to stay upright. Today was a really important day. Not just because I fell and got up again, but because I saw that I have yet to master my mind in this area of life. I'm very aware of mind over matter in everything we do. However, I haven't yet mastered it in all areas of my life. And today, I realized that that's okay. Because confidence can be borrowed. Today, I was lucky enough to be with Gato who gave me the gift of his belief. He never doubted my capability. And he saw me only as my potential. Even when I showed up as less. To me, this is the most powerful thing we can give each other as human beings. To see someone as their best self, even when they aren't. I believe that everything begins with conviction. Certainty and faith are powerful. And today, I learned that even in moments when I don't believe in myself, life will still provide it, but through someone else. That's what Gato did for me today. And for that, and the many, many times he picked up my bike, I am entirely grateful. So, thank you for watching, and if you're interested in training with Gato, links are in description. And feel free to contribute gas money to keep my journey going. Thank you all for your support in so many ways, and big shout out to my monthly contributors. See you in the next one. Thank you. You survived. That's exactly what I thought.