You have to earn the downhill

A guest article from Scott Lockey

Nov 23, 2023

Welcome to the tenth edition of Guest Articles, where we hand the reins of the Rag over to our community. Our community can write about whatever they want, the only requirement is that it strengthens our community or helps us achieve our goal of making Canberra suicide-free. This week, we hear from Scott Lockey, who is also the author of Nerdboy’s Notes.

You have to earn the downhill.

Scott Lockey

I am a keen mountain bike rider. I spend a few hours every weekend with a couple of mates exploring our local mountain bike trails. One of my favourite trails is a 50-60 minute, 12km loop. Depending on which bits we add or leave out, the climb up takes about 40-50 minutes and the descent is nearly always done in 10 minutes.

I love that descent. It is about the only time in the week when my brain switches off from work and other stressors. I have to concentrate so hard - on keeping on the track, avoiding the trees, avoiding the rocks, keeping my weight correctly positioned on the bike - that my brain has no capacity for any other thoughts. It might be only 10 minutes long but it is utterly exhilarating.

And what makes that descent feel even better is that I know that I have earned it. By the time I get to the top of the mountain I have sweated, I have raised my heart rate to 170+, I have burned about 500 calories. I start the downhill with a sense of having earned the privilege of gravity assist. I look at the e-bike riders and those who caught the shuttle to the top of the mountain with a degree of envy (they aren’t sweating or out of breath), but in my heart I know that I will enjoy my descent just a little more than they will because I have earned it!

I reckon that other aspects of life are just like mountain biking - you have to earn the downhill.

So you want to buy a car? How about saving hard and earning 50% of the deposit rather than taking out a loan for 100%.

So you want to go on a holiday to Europe? How about saving up for it for a couple of years rather than maxing out your credit card and then paying it off for the next four or five years.

So you want to be an executive in the company? How about starting by spending a few years in the myriad of less-senior roles in the company so that you understand how the place works and how things actually get done around here, and then working your way up the ladder as you gain more experience and become competent.

So you want to gain a pilot’s licence? How about working four hours every Thursday night and eight hours every Saturday at Dick Smith Electronics to earn enough money for a one hour flying lesson each Sunday, rather than taking out a personal loan for a five week intensive course at Parafield.

We have a culture today that supports instant gratification. We can order a new pair of runners and pay a bit extra to have them delivered TOMORROW. We can go on line and find a movie or TV show from any genre and watch it NOW. We can ask Google or ChatGPT for the answer to ANY question that springs to mind. But how satisfied is today’s society?

I believe that our culture of instant gratification is numbing our sense of satisfaction. People are no longer satisfied or fulfilled because, sub-consciously, they don’t feel that they have earned whatever it is that they have just received. Our society seems to always want more because we have not achieved a sense of satisfaction for what we have got right now.

Maybe if we were forced to wait a bit longer for the new shoes, the next episode of The Crown or Sex Education, flying our first solo flight, or achieving the promotion, we would feel a greater sense of achievement and satisfaction. And we might not be in such a hurry for the next ‘hit’.

I’ll be back on the mountain this weekend, huffing, puffing and sweating my way to the top before allowing gravity to take over. What are you going to do to earn your next downhill?

The R4R Rag

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