short-term challenges you face along the way become easier to navigate. So put your head down and do the work.
YOU ARE NOT ME Don’ t compare yourself to other riders. If your attention lies in the ongoing comparison of yourself to others, let this be an alarm bell that you have already created doubt within your own program. As we discussed earlier, self-doubt effectively kills your success. Instead, try to redirect your efforts to mentally focus on your strengths. Trust me, all it takes is a few deep breaths and a quick mental reset. The positive result of increased skill, confidence, and drive will be immediate. Then you will be back to building on your strengths.
TAKE A RISK It may sound harsh, but you are shielding yourself against your own growth right now. That’ s because growth requires moving away from a place of comfort to a place that requires you to face some level of fear. For example, maybe you tense up every time the motorcycle leans over at slow speeds, so you choose to keep it upright when turning around everywhere you go. Surely you would love to have the comfort and control to drop the motorcycle over to whatever degree suits the situation, but fear gets in the way, so you don’ t. In this example, the only way you will harness that ability is to find a safe environment and put in the work. But that work will require you to abandon comfort and embrace risk.
FIXED VS. GROWTH MINDSET Typically, students who struggle the most in motor programs carry a fixed mindset. They believe that their base skills or capabilities are fixed traits, so they are more likely to try to confirm them rather than work to develop them. This thinking can discourage them when they are confronted with mistakes because it solidifies their belief system. Shortly thereafter, doubt sets in, and they tend to disengage from the learning process and give up altogether.
Conversely, one who maintains a growth mindset doesn’ t focus on proving an underlying ability or skill set but instead uses the challenges and opportunities around them to continue to develop into the best version of themselves possible. In other words, adversity becomes a bend in the road, not the end of the road.
Sgt. Jones has a few tricks up his sleeve to help motor academy students avoid selfdoubt and develop a growth mindset.
Sgt. Jones has translated his years of coaching athletes into a high pass rate at the CHP Motor Academy.
HAVE A GOAL AND A PLAN TO GET THERE When you practice on your motorcycle, understand what you are trying to accomplish. In my experience most riders simply hop on the bike and throw whatever techniques they know at the motorcycle without having any specific training goal in mind. Before your next training session, answer these questions: Why am I here? What is my training goal for today? What is my long-term training goal? How will I determine if I’ m moving in the right direction? What tools am I using to evaluate my progress? Your answers should be specific and measurable if you want to see long-term growth in your skills.
CREATE A ROUTINE It’ s important to create a repeatable process to fall back on when you find
yourself struggling. This means a mental and physical reset process to help us get back to a“ level set” position. Our routines help make moments feel normal, so if you find yourself struggling, slow everything down, calm your mind, simplify your process, and go back to the routine that was working in the past.
My hope is that some of this material resonates for you and that over time you put some of these concepts into practice. You have my word that they will make a significant positive impact on your riding and training program for many years to come.
Quinn wears Schuberth helmets, Richa apparel, Lee Parks Design gloves, and Indie Ridge boots. Find out more at Quinn’ s website, PoliceMotorTraining. com. Send feedback to rider @ ridermagazine. com.
RIDERMAGAZINE. COM / MARCH 2026 / 63