How To Listen When Life Tells You It’s Time To Move On

Sometimes you just have to listen to what your heart is telling you. Perhaps it’s that something inside of you churning, motivating you to apply for that opportunity that maybe you don’t think you’re quite ready for. Maybe it’s that project around the house you kinda sorta think you can do, but are hesitant to give it a go. If you’re anything like me then your mind can sometimes be your own worst enemy. It’s not always easy, that’s for sure. Block out the noise. Listen. Believe in what your mind is telling you.

I ran into this very scenario early in 2022. Truth be told I had been dragging my feet to take action on this for years. I’d say it took me a good two to three years to get my head into the right mindset and finally pull the trigger. To actually listen to what my heart was telling me. This coming from someone that has a reputation for making stuff happen. Multimillion-dollar projects with widespread impact…? No worries, let’s get after it! Rolling the dice for an opportunity on the other side of the country…? I ain’t scared, let’s roll.

My life has been predicated on possessing the ability to be decisive, and I readily admit that mindset has allowed me to enjoy a life I once never thought was possible. Yet here I was stuck in limbo for literally years because I had a hard time letting go of something.

Listen – What’s With All The Bike Pictures

That something was finally moving on from my 2006 Suzuki GSXR-1000. Sounds weird right…? I know it does. It’s a motorcycle, who cares…? I do actually. I should say it in the past tense, because I finally let it go a few weeks back.

It was time to move on for years. I just wasn’t riding it as much. I was never afraid to ride the bike. It was crazy powerful. Carbon fiber rims for low rotational mass. All kinds of suspension and aftermarket goodies. A quick shifter to tear through gears. I had it tuned several years back and got it to 170 horsepower. The truck I used to haul it around in was only 180. Of course, the bike was four hundred pounds versus the truck weighing a ton give or take.

Listen – Material Object Or Something More

I used to race the bike. Prior to moving back home to Texas, I had a group of friends in Southern California that were all into sport bikes. We’d go to the area tracks, race against one another and other enthusiasts. I got to ride down the famous Laguna Seca Corkscrew multiple times.

I spent so much time at Streets of Willow outside of Palmdale, CA I had the race lines of the track practically memorized. Corner working for the California Superbike School so much I lost count to how many trips to the track I took. It was free track time when you worked the corners for them, so my buddies and I would go out there and spend the weekend working and riding.

It was more than that though. There was a strong sense of camaraderie. To go out there, leave everything you had on the track, have the California desert sun beating down on you and your buddies, and for everyone to make it through the end of the day unscathed.

We’d always wind up at the same Mexican restaurant down the road from Streets of Willow. It was next to the runway at the small airport in Rosamond, CA. I looked forward to those dinners. Sharing beers with friends, talking about the events of the day. Joking about how we one upped each other on the track. It was awesome, and I truly missed it when I relocated permanently back home to Texas.

Listen – So What Happened

I held onto the bike for another eight years in Texas and kept going to the track. I road Motorsport Ranch Cresson south of Fort Worth a couple of times and signed up for a level four class with the California Superbike School at Circuit of the Americas in August of 2017. It was awesome, a beautifully perfect track to ride on just outside of Austin. Something was wrong though. My heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

I decided to put the GSX-R back on the road, I thought maybe if I could cruise around the Texas countryside on it, I would regain that feeling I once had. I did, but that feeling never returned. The bike was never a burden for me, but I am hardwired to not let things sit around. I consider myself a low-level minimalist. I actually get a little anxiety by having needless things taking up space in my life. Not so much a problem for my bike, but slowly that process was playing out as the years passed.

Listen – What Was Done

Once I came to the conclusion those days of really enjoying motorcycle riding were finally gone, it was time to let go. I put the bike up for sale on CycleTrader in the waning days of 2021. Within a few days I had multiple people interested and a couple of offers.

The offers came in so quick I mentally wasn’t ready for them. The gentleman that eventually bought the bike was very patient with me. When he made the offer, I was upfront with him. I needed a few days to wrap my mind around letting it go. I’d owned it for fifteen years. Bought it new in October 2006 from Santa Barbara Motorsports. That’s a lot of history.

I felt as though the bike was a part of me. An identity of sorts. I built it from stock, and could do amazing things on it. Riding and ripping up a race track were effortless for me. I have so many cool pictures from various events. So many memories.

All that said, I let it go. It was time to listen to my heart, and my head. I sold it to a very nice young gentleman. A motorcycle enthusiast himself for sure. How do I know? My bike was number eight in his garage. He definitely loves motorcycles.

Listen – What Now

Three weeks have passed since I watched seemingly a part of my life ride away into the sunset in the back of someone else’s truck. Thankfully I can state in all honesty I have zero regrets about the decision. It was time to listen. Time to move on. Let that part of me go.

I’m married to an incredible woman. Great job, the best coworkers you could ever ask for. A bunch of stinky dogs that love me. I love my life, it’s basically perfect. I am a lucky man. Why would I ever want to do anything to jeopardize that?

As a society we are very distracted these days, and it carries over to operating our vehicles. Life changing accidents happen every day. I am keenly aware of some particularly awful accidents over the years. I could get past them several years ago. Today I struggle knowing what I know.

I needed the time to come to this realization. Now that I have, I am content it was the right action for me to take for many reasons. It was assuredly not an easy thing for me to do, hindsight being 20/20 I am glad I finally pulled the trigger.

Listen – Conclusion

So, I just wrote 1200 plus words telling you about a singular action I took a few weeks ago at the time of this writing. The story is focused on my emotional attachment to a motorcycle, admittedly a ridiculous notion, but an accurate one nonetheless for this country guy.

The message I would like to convey carries over into countless aspects of life. Listen to what your heart is telling you. Out here in the country we say things like “listen to your gut.” The message is one in the same. You can call it intuition. I believe it is applicable to many parts of life. Getting out of your comfort zone, that big promotion, going back for that degree. Something inside of you compelling change, that it’s time to turn the page in life.

We all write the stories of our own lives. I believe we should trust the experiences that got us where we are today, and if you hear that little tingling inside of you saying it’s time to roll the dice or take action, maybe give it a listen. Believe in yourself. Trust your gut. You never know where it may take you. Until next time thank you for reading, and please take care of yourself and the ones you love.