Hindsight: What did you learn?

In hindsight, maybe I wouldn't have done that...

How many times have you said that to yourself? It's always nearly the same. Heart beat elevated, adrenaline going nuts and in the middle of this 'oh-shit' sort of feeling, you realise that what you just did (or didn't) could have been a big one. From splaying your feet too wide on a wet bathroom floor, to a knife slipping a bit while chopping onions, or in the case of this blog's central subject, something that happened while you were out on the motorcycle.

The thing is, we don't introspect enough. No, sometimes even I, king of OCD as I am, I don't. I forget. Either to introspect, or to remember the lesson hidden in that moment.

Many of us, for instance, ride way too close to the vehicle travelling ahead of us. I know I've done it, until it was pointed out by my boss one time, a long, long time ago. And in daily riding, you might point out, it may not actually be feasible. All valid arguments, I grant. But the whole thing collapses to a shivering heap when the car ahead of you brakes hard, you react and then a patch of wet tarmac appears magically from between the car's axles. Bam! You've just had an Oh-shit moment. If you're lucky, one ding, one scratch and one apology. If you aren't, hospital ceiling, food through the tube, friendly doodles on white plaster, a crooked smile, and month and months before you can lean into a corner again.

In either case, how much time before you go out and make the same mistake again?

Note: No I am fine. This post was not inspired by a personal, er, 'tragedy' of any sort