Drop in
One of the most difficult things to do in skateboarding is to learn to ‘drop in’. This is the commitment at the top of the ramp. One moment, you’re standing still, at the abyss, and the next you’re committed, fully engaged with gravity.
The worse thing you can do is half.
When you sort of commit, you’re likely to fall.
The rule is pretty simple: If you’re going to bother going skateboarding, then you’ve already decided. In this moment, you’re not making a new decision. You’re simply acting on what you said you wanted to do in the first place.
Decide once. It’s fine to opt-out. But once you decide, there’s no upside in re-litigating your decision, particularly when it leads to needless risk and wasted effort.
And of course, you may have realized all the moments in our lives where our hesitation to drop in is precisely at the heart of the challenge.
[Skateboarding details here. Worth noting that “dropping in” while surfing is a very different thing, and the opposite rules apply.]