The Speed Wobbles

Often times life feels like it accelerates around us without us doing much, like a bike going down a hill. This can be a business expanding quick, or a dishwasher breaking, followed by car problems, followed by a job loss.

As the acceleration happens, it feels like one small thing can set you into a cataclysmic event, but the secret is in most cases you can stay upright by not freaking out and remaining steady until your problems correct and you get back to normalcy.

There are a few exceptions to this. In some extraordinary circumstances, if the bike as a metaphor for your problems accelerates to a certain degree, you get a phenomenon known as “The Speed Wobbles”. In aerodynamics, this is due to what is called vortex shedding. The vortices of the air created by you passing through extremely quickly start alternating side to side creating alternating pressure differences that make you wobble, which if they get strong enough lead to an inevitable crash. Like this situation, if your circumstances reach extraordinary levels, they need extraordinary planning to get out of them.

To alleviate the vortex shedding at certain velocities you would need a custom engineered bike, requiring planning, insight, and money. You’re not going to wing your way out of the speed wobbles.

Enzo Ferrari once said, “Aerodynamics is for people who can’t build engines.” He must have not built an engine fast enough to give a car the speed wobbles.

Aerodynamics is the solution to this issue for the bike, designing a shape that prevents vortex shedding. Accounting may be the solution to your financial woes. Therapy may be the key to resolving mental blocks. A nutritionist or personal training may be the ticket for health and fitness. These things are all specialties. When we find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances, it’s possible we need specialist knowledge to get ourselves through it.

This is a reminder that you don’t have to do things alone. There are people that can help, and we live in a world that is totally connected, making it the easiest it’s ever been to find those skills even if they aren’t in your immediate network. Maybe Enzo Ferrari wouldn’t have thought aerodynamics were so unnecessary if he could easily find specialists in that field, but during his time it was orders of magnitude harder. You don’t have to feel that way. There are untold amounts of resources at your fingertips.