“Just say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterwards.” – Tina Fey.
I’ve made it my mission to do things that make me uncomfortable deliberately. To do something which I’ve never done before and to say yes, as often as possible, because life is meant to be lived.
We instinctively retract when offered an opportunity that may appear intimidating. We judge a chance by the certainty or lack thereof. We measure the risk and assess the potential impact, perceived as negative or otherwise.
When you say yes to trying new things, you broaden your world and experiences.
On the Wednesday before Easter, my husband Nathan and I rolled our Mustang into the Showgrounds for scrutineering prior to Rockynats 03. It was expected that our car, helmet and licences be checked for Nathan to street drag race and for me to drive in the street parade.
During this examination, I was given my street drag time… 2:00 pm on Saturday, which was less than 72 hours’ notice that I’d been nominated.
As a master delegator, I had outsourced my nomination duties to Nathan. I have yet to determine if he deliberately nominated me for street drag racing or not, but either way, I had less than 72 hours to learn how to do it.
Admittedly street drags aren’t as intimidating as actual drag racing. The tyres are different, the penalties aren’t as harsh when you miss the pre-start and start, twice, and no burnout at the start is required.
But let me tell you, there is far more to it than ‘put your foot to the floor and stay straight’.
The look on my face was that of shock and horror, I’m told by friends who were working in the scrutineering office that Wednesday.
I was given the option to remove myself from the 2:00 pm timeslot by visiting the administration office, but, never one to shy away from a challenge; even though I was extremely uncomfortable, I forced myself to accept my fate.
I left the scrutineering shed to learn how to street drag race within three days.
I am not ashamed to share that while in the staging area of the street drags, I was still watching YouTube videos about ‘How to drag race’. I’d had extensive and intensive coaching by Nathan, an experienced drag racer in his late teens and 20s, and had friends weigh in.
As expected, it was a heck of a lot of fun, and after two runs on the Saturday, I was invited back on Sunday for the elimination finals. What a rush!
If I had given into the fear, I would have withdrawn myself from that opportunity. But the mantra I live by, which enables me to live a big and fulfilling life, meant I put one foot in front of the other (and to the floor) and pursued the opportunity.
Upon sharing the story of the YouTube video watching in the staging area, I was reminded of the time I was asked to model clothing for a local small business at a rodeo.
This was no small rodeo either and was, in fact, one of the biggest ones to hit the region in 2022.
Again, always one to say yes to something new, I gave it a go. I love clothes, after all, so what could possibly go wrong?
A very good friend of mine, the one who nominated me for the catwalk, stood back and watched the procession on the day with Nathan. She shook her head while mumbling, “Is there anything she can’t do?”
And with that, Nathan started laughing hysterically.
He’d been sworn to secrecy by me, but the cat was out of the bag and Nathan was forced to reveal that less than 30 minutes before we headed to the rodeo, I was YouTubing and practising at home ‘How to walk on a catwalk’.
Not only does this speak volumes about my procrastination habit, but it also touches on the fact that I don’t worry about things until they’re relevant.
Perhaps a few practice drag races would have been handy, and maybe even an hour or two practice on the catwalk, but hey, it worked out in the end, and it was a lot of fun in the process with the added element of time pressure.
I looked forward to RockyNats 03 like a child looks forward to their birthday and to Christmas. You can have Mother’s Day, my birthday and Christmas; I want RockyNats 04 to be here already!
In addition to my drag racing opportunity, I was shoved in a drift car as a passenger; one hour before drag racing, another surprise my husband sprung on me.
Not only was this a time-sensitive rush, but it meant I had to leg it from the Empire to Scotia Place on foot to collect my car in jeans, boots and a long-sleeve shirt, carrying a helmet, on the hottest day of Rockynats, the Saturday.
On Sunday morning, when I was lined up and ready for the finals elimination drag races, I was excited and could hardly wait. I’d caught the bug and was very keen to race again.
Nathan turned to me and said, “Oh no, what have I created?” and my response was simple, ‘You’ve been at this for 23 years, sunshine; you knew what you were doing”.
While many may shy away from surprises and fearful activities that come without warning, I walk towards them with a fierce determination to do my best and try something new. It must be the Scout in me!
