Studying for the FE Exam and my lessons from a mountain bike trail

Whether it be riding a mountain bike or studying for the FE Exam, getting back in to doing something you haven’t done in a while will present it’s challenges.

From lactic acid to feeling like you can’t remember a thing from college, understanding how these two pursuits parallel one another can help us all sustain the path ahead.

Let’s get in to it.

This past summer, I decided to get back on my mountain bike and start riding again.

Riding was something that I would do quite a bit growing up, but set aside as the wave of “life” took me in another direction.

It had been nearly 5 years since I had ridden and I decided on a whim to head out to a local bike park.

The place was packed with people who “obviously” never set the bike down.

I was rusty.

I was out of shape.

I was…intimidated.

I had lot of doubt with what I was capable of doing.

It was slightly defeating if I could be honest – knowing where I was before I stopped riding.

But it was what it was –

My new reality.

So what does me riding a mountain bike have anything to do with studying for the FE Exam?

Welp, you’d be surprised…a lot.

Here are 3 lessons that I have been reminded of as I have gotten back on my bike.

Lesson 1: Being intimidated is OK, doubting your abilities while studying for the FE Exam is OK, being rusty is OK.

With time and repetition, those emotions will subside, your abilities will return and your mindset will shift to one that is enabling rather than one that is disabling.

It doesn’t matter where you feel you are today, know you can be where you want to be –

You just have to push through the initial up front friction of studying for the FE Exam post academia.

Lesson 2: Challenging myself physically has helped me (re)build grit.

There is nothing like climbing the hills and feeling the legs burn, feeling your chest burn, peaking your heart rate – but pushing forth anyway.

Studying for the FE Exam is going to be a challenge.

There is going to be material that outright slaps us in the face, but we have a choice.

Luckily, one side of that choice is to continue pushing forward anyways.

Lesson 3: Being intentional studying for the FE Exam versus “fitting it in” – only one approach will increase your abilities long term.

There is a time for leisurely rides around the block, but it’s the times that I am riding the trails that I improve my bike control, my fitness and my overall abilities.

It’s one thing to study here and there, to fit it in while we watch Netflix or a college football game – but that isn’t going to get us very far.

Being intentional with the time that we spend studying for the FE Exam is going to get us a lot further in a lot less time and with much more efficiency.

And that’s that, believe it or not, lessons from a mountain bike trail – and they couldn’t be any more relevant to all of us today as we are studying for the FE Exam.

We’ve got to understand that the biggest obstacles that will hold us back have nothing to do with knowledge.

Knowledge will come if we give ourselves the grace needed to pick it back up.

Most won’t…but you will, and we will be here by your side to help you do just that – Click here to learn how we help our students studying for the FE Exam.

Happy studying y’all.