Risk brings reward or Mimi rides her bike without stabilisers

My husband is having a week off from the relentlessness of the city, opting instead for a week of relentlessness with our children. I am seeking solace in the office.

Written in the Daddy rule book is the need when your child reaches a certain age to get out your tool box, rediscover the spanner (my husband top Daddy and financier though he may be won’t be putting handy andy out of a job any time soon), remove the stabiliers from your offspring’s bike (garish slightly rusty from being left out in the rain Disney princess version for the record) and send your precious wobbly child on her way. It’s a rite of passage.

If you love something, let it go. If it comes back it’s yours if they don’t they’ve probably fallen off their bike around the big tree in the middle of the park into a pile of dog poo (You may think I jest but I have actually seen it happen)

When I came home from work both mimi and husb were delighted with the day's achievements prompting an exciting should-be-bathtime-but-what-the-hell impromptu trip down the park for a full demonstration of the new skill she had obtained during the day.

As she wibbled and wobbled her way proudly round the bike track, biting her lip in concentration as she went and turning and beaming at me each time she stopped. It made me think about how much pleasure she had got from the risk she has taken. She’d gone way outside her comfort zone, but the pleasure she was getting far outweighed the initial risk. In business too, it is often through risk, getting outside your comfort zone and doing something that scares you that the greatest achievements are felt.

I think we should all try harder to go stuff that scares us at work. Risk really does bring reward.