If you’re new to Mechanics the thought of it may stir fear in your body rather than bring a sense of zen and calm, but addressing these 3 steps will help turn that around.

Get curious about the fear

Before you even start to work on the bike, the first thing to do is get curious about the feelings it brings up in you.

How does it make you feel in your body?

What thoughts are running through your head?

What is your internal dialogue saying?

Have you been in other situations where you’ve felt like this?

Questions like these can really help you get to the bottom of your emotional response to working on your bike. Often we have internal dialogues running, that we have never considered, but which have a huge impact on how we expect to succeed with Mechanics.

It may be that someone once told you you were ‘no good at mechanical things’ or you weren’t encouraged to make mistakes when learning new things. Taking time to explore and delve into these feelings, thoughts and beliefs will help to create a sense of calm in itself.

Mistakes are vital - it’s part of learning

Think of every time you’ve made a mistake in the past. Once you got passed the shame, embarrassment and frustration did you get a strange feeling that you’d learned something important?

That’s because when we make mistakes in a judgement-free space, we are able to move on from those initial feelings and start to problem-solve what went wrong and work out how to avoid it next time.

Much like the difference between doing something yourself and just being told how to do it, when we visualise a process and analyse the steps involved we bed in the learning at a far deeper lever.

One of the most important things I create in my teaching is a judgement-free space where it’s ok to ask questions, to make mistakes and to take time over learning.

De-escalation is the most powerful tool

Escalation and de-escalation in this context means the difference between the sympathetic nervous system (characterised by fight, flight or free panic responses, short and shallow breathing and a shut-down in brain function) and the parasympathetic nervous system (characterised by a sense of calm, slow, regular breathing and an ability to use the brain to problem solve or thing at it’s highest level).

Over the years I have experienced both situations while riding and working on bikes, but little good has ever come from escalation or engaging my sympathetic nervous system.

If you feel that sense of panic rising within your body and mind the best thing to do is step away from the thing your doing. I’ve never managed to successfully fix something when I’ve been in an agitated state. Just like talking to a toddler, the trick is to walk away, have a brew, do some breathing exercises and come back when you’re de-escalated and calm.

At that point you can go back to the beginning of the job and follow each process step by step.

Whether it’s the renewed sense of calm or just the fact your brain has been problem solving while you were looking elsewhere, more often than not you find things work out. If they don’t, just repeat the process.

Mechanics relies on a blend of elements and doesn’t always go right first time - that’s the reality so blaming yourself is usually futile.

Mindful Mechanics® Bonus!

When I follow these steps I find mechanics brings the same feelings as any other mindfulness practice. When you focus on engaging your senses - touch, hearing and sight - along with your cognitive and visualisation skills there is no room for other thoughts and worries to exist. For the duration of the job you are purely focused on that task and that gives our brains a chance to rest.

I would love to hear how you get on with these Mindful Mechanics® tips. If you’d like support with learning to work on your bike you can check out my YouTube channel or drop me a line about teaching.