"But then, maybe the possibility enters your mind: Though your overprotective parents forbade you from learning to ride bikes back in elementary school, who is to say you don't possess some latent, prodigious bike-riding abilities that need only an opportunity to express themselves? That possibility buoys you enough to swing your leg over the saddle and make one pedal stroke."
"I am a fan of this particular flavor of self-motivation, and so is this week's Try Hard guest, Defector's very own Diana Moskovitz. In this episode, Diana talks about growing up as an over-protected child who wasn't allowed to ride bikes without training wheels, and the self-delusion she calls upon when it's time to try something new. A transcript of the episode can be found here."
An adult decides to learn to ride a bicycle and confronts visible competence from other cyclists, triggering self-doubt. A fleeting imagination of being an undiscovered prodigy provides enough confidence to take a first pedal stroke. The imagined exceptional talent acts as a motivational delusion that lowers the barrier to attempt. Actual learning requires practice and the illusion quickly dissolves, but the temporary self-deception accomplishes its goal by initiating action. The narrative links childhood overprotection and forbidden early practice with adult hesitation, and presents strategic self-delusion as a useful tactic for starting new skills.
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