What Came First — Joy, or the Pressure to Perform?
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This morning I joined a shakeout ride ahead of tomorrow’s OG Classic Gravel event.
Gravel, dirt roads, a beautiful corner of the world, and a small group of riders gathering before a big day.
For several people in the group, it was also an opportunity to meet Mike Woods for the first time.
What struck me wasn’t his palmares.
It was how approachable he was.
How generous with his time.
How genuinely happy he seemed to simply be on a bike, riding with a group of everyday cyclists, laughing, asking questions, fully present.
No ego. No performance. Just joy.
It was a small moment.
But it raised a question that has stayed with me all day.
What Came First?
Before the results.
Before the rankings, the watts, the splits, the targets, the promotions, the titles.
There was something else.
Joy. Curiosity. A simple love of the thing itself.
For the cyclist, it may have started as the feeling of wind and freedom on a childhood bike.
For the executive, it may have started as the excitement of solving a hard problem, or building something that mattered.
For the founder, it may have started as a spark of belief in an idea worth chasing.
Whatever it was, it came first.
The pressure to perform came later.
I see this every day, in pros and aspiring pros, in executives, in leaders.
Somewhere along the way, the order quietly reverses.
Performance moves to the front.
Joy moves to the back.
And what used to feel like love starts to feel like drudgery.
The Practical Purpose of a Shakeout Ride
Shakeout rides serve a real physical purpose.
They loosen the legs.
They calm pre-race nerves.
They build confidence by reminding the body it is ready.
Most riders already know this part.
But there is something else a shakeout ride does — something less talked about, and in my opinion, more important.
It reconnects us with why we started in the first place.
Why Joy Matters More Than We Think
There is real neuroscience behind why this matters, and why reconnecting with joy is not a soft, secondary idea. It is a performance strategy.
When we engage in something playful, low-pressure, and genuinely enjoyable, the brain releases dopamine and oxytocin — chemicals tied to motivation, connection, and reward. At the same time, cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, decreases.
Play and joy are not the opposite of performance.
They are part of what makes performance sustainable.
When we are in a state of chronic pressure, fear, or self-monitoring, the nervous system shifts toward protection. Creativity narrows. Connection becomes harder to access. The parts of the brain responsible for flexible thinking and problem-solving become less available, not more.
But when we feel safe — genuinely safe, not just outwardly relaxed — something shifts.
We become more present.
More creative.
More able to access our best thinking, right when we need it most.
This is part of why some of the most accomplished performers, like the man on this shakeout ride, often look the least intense. Confidence is not the absence of nerves. It is the presence of enough internal safety to stay human under pressure.
When It Becomes Drudgery
I see this pattern constantly.
The cyclist who started riding for the freedom of it, now dreading every interval on the schedule.
The executive who started leading because they cared, now buried under metrics that no longer feel connected to anything meaningful.
The founder who started building because they believed in something, now grinding through each day just to keep up.
None of them set out to lose the joy.
It happened slowly.
One deadline, one result, one expectation at a time.
And by the time someone notices, the thing they once loved can start to feel like an obligation. A grind. Drudgery, instead of purpose.
The work in front of them hasn’t necessarily changed.
But their relationship to it has.
Back to This Morning
Today wasn’t about performance.
It was about community.
It was about connection.
It was about remembering why we started.
Tomorrow, everyone on that ride will toe the start line with their own goals for the OG Classic. Some will chase a result. Others will simply finish, and be proud of that.
But today reminded all of us of something underneath all of it.
We ride because it’s fun.
Because we love being outside.
Because we love the challenge.
Because we love the people who share it with us.
Sometimes the best way to prepare for a big event, a big presentation, or a big season of life is not to focus harder on the outcome.
It is to pause, and ask the question.
What came first?
And how do I get back to it?
What is something in your life that started with joy, but has slowly become all about performance, productivity, or results?
What came first for you — the love of it, or the pressure to be good at it?
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“In every job that must be done there is an element of fun. Find the fun and “snap” the job’s a game!” - Mary Poppins
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Sheri Jay
Neuro Transformational Coach
Sheri Jay Coaching helps people with busy brains find their purpose so that they can thrive and be more effective.
I am a virtual coach with a global reach. While my in-person workshops primarily take place in Canada and the United States, I also offer virtual workshops to clients worldwide. Additionally, I provide customized workshops tailored to specific needs, often conducted on-site at the client's location.