How an E-Bike helped me start believing in myself again

I hope your week is going really well so far.

Back in April, I completed my first ever half-marathon, something I never imagined would be possible for me. I have been so surprised with the amount of lessons I've gained from this experience, both in business and life. So, if you'd like to learn a little bit about the journey that took me from completely inactive to completing a half-marathon, and how this applies to business and life, please read on!

I've divided the story into 4 parts, to make it easier to read and also because there were insights and learnings at different stages, that would be useful to highlight as we go through the story.

Let’s rewind to the beginning.

In January 2024, I turned 40. That particular milestone seems to be quite a powerful one for many of us. We spend time reflecting upon our life so far and the direction in which we are heading. I knew that there was one area of my life I had been massively neglecting over a period of several years - my health. I'd developed chronic tendonitis in both feet since 2017, which gradually instilled a negative belief that I would never be able to run again. That belief shaped my actions, or rather, my inaction. My mind had become very black and white when it came to physical movement and health - I couldn't run, therefore I didn't really bother doing much else.

Hitting 40 made me question how I'd approached health over the past few years, and I knew that it was in my power to make the decision to change things for the better. After all, I knew I had managed to navigate big transitions before. I’d built businesses, changed careers, and overcome lots of hard things throughout my life. This evidence gave me enough belief that perhaps I could change my health around too.

The counterintuitive start to my health transformation

My very first step towards physical activity was counterintuitive. I converted my regular bike into an e-bike. People told me this would make me more lazy because I wouldn't want to cycle myself, and thought it was a waste of time and money. However, that little motor changed everything for me. Suddenly, I felt excited to start using my bike again (it had been gathering dust for years).

Previously I was too scared to use it in case I got too tired halfway through, and wouldn't be able to make it to my destination. Having the motor gave me the confidence to start moving again, even if gently. What I found to be a lovely surprise is that every time I got on the bike, I wanted to pedal. I had the option of letting the motor do 100% of the work, but I found myself motivated to 'help' by pedalling. Sometimes I would bring the power all the way down in order to exercise a bit more, and so on. The confidence boost it gave me was absolutely huge. It got me moving again, and it started to challenge my limiting beliefs around my own physical abilities.

After a few months of this, my confidence grew enough that I took the next leap - I started beginner's tennis lessons. I was absolutely terrified of triggering my foot pain again, but I told my coach about my tendonitis and participated really gently. I quickly fell in love with being outdoors, learning new skills, and slowly rebuilding trust in my body. I also made some new lovely friends in my area. My confidence grew enormously, especially when I could see and feel that physical activity was doing my body a whole lot of good, and that my tendonitis wasn't flaring up. My mindset shifted. And my body started to ask for more.

That’s when I hired a personal trainer, my lovely friend Ilona. Instead of focusing on hardcore HIIT workouts (this was my go-to prior to my injury in 2017) I had to learn to be ridiculously patient, and worked very gradually through a strength training programme. I tend to be fairly impatient when it comes to achieving results, but Ilona knew that I needed to go slow before speeding up, and to re-build all the foundations I'd lost through years of inactivity. She helped me keep my motivation strong, to focus on my health more holistically and to focus on slow, sustainable progress. That was a huge mindset shift for someone with a military background like me, used to intense physical training and instant results. This time, we did things radically differently.

And you know what? It worked, MASSIVELY.

My body responded. My confidence grew. My tendonitis decreased to the point of almost full healing, and something inside me began to whisper, 'What if you could run again?'

Business and life insights

This initial phase of my journey back to movement taught me some valuable life and business lessons:

- The smallest of actions can have a profound impact over time. If I had never converted my bike to an e-bike, perhaps I would have remained too scared to exercise, to flare up my injury, and would have continued re-enforcing my limiting belief that my healthy days were over. By taking a seemingly small action, I started to gather momentum. This absolutely applies to life and business.

Reflective question: What's one thing you'd love to achieve but feels too big right now? what would be a tiny first action step you could take in order to start building confidence and momentum?

- Nothing is static - we have the ability to change anything about our lives if we have a big enough why. My 'why' in this situation was my growing desire to regain my health, my energy levels, and my ability to move freely. Movement and health gives us so much freedom, and I felt fed up of having a body that was limiting me. I wanted to be able to live life fully and I knew that this required me to invest in my physical and mental health. I had no idea how I would return to full fitness, but I took one first step - that compounded enormously over time.

Reflection question: What’s one area of your life or business where you’ve been waiting to feel ready... but deep down, you know you could start small today?

Stay tuned for Part 2 next week, where I share how the quiet whisper 'What if you could run again?' turned into a bold commitment to run 21km, and the fears, doubts, and breakthroughs that followed.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

With love,

Marcela

💭 Quote of the week:

'You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step' - Martin Luther King Jr.

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Dr Marcela Aguirre

Helping Brilliant Women Solopreneurs Gain the Know-How & Confidence to Build and Scale a Sustainable One-Person Business | ICF Certified Coach | Doctor | Ex-Military Officer | 1:1 | Group Coaching & Workshops | Speaker