10 Ten Life Lessons from Skiing

1. GO. Get the crap out of the garage and drive up to the hill. Sometimes, just getting out of the house is the issue. How many times do we think, I’d like to ski today, but I’m sort of busy with… (fill in the blank.) How often do we have great ideas that we’d like to see in our lives, and “back burner” them repeatedly until they are gone?

2. Keep your knees bent. There are bound to be bumps in the piste. If you are rigid, the impact with pound you. If you keep your knees bent, literally when skiing, and figuratively in life, you’ll absorb the shock and move on. Expect bumps and pass over them instead of bracing against them.

3. Relax. Stay alert, but not tense. This goes along with keeping your knees bent, but involves the whole body (or mind.) When you spend your time watching for where you might fall, rather than looking for the good stuff, you waste your energy and exhaust yourself.

4. Commit. Lean down the hill, reach into the turn. Fall into gravity. Holding back may feel like it will keep you in control, but it really doesn’t. You won’t have the edge. Your angle on the snow will be all wrong, and you will not be fully engaged in what you are trying to accomplish.

5. Stay on track. Choose a line and stick with it. You may not be lined up to the gate perfectly, or there may be some bumps coming up that intimidate you, but ditching off to the side will kill your time or put you into a tree. Don’t give way to panic, stay steady.

6. Be looking for the next line. OK, stay on track, but know when the fall line ends, and be ready to move on to what is next. Stay open to other opportunities and be ready to move if they are better than where you are. Explore.

7. Prepare. The best snow does not fall in sunshine, prepare for the weather. Tune and wax your skis. Make sure you have the tools you need to succeed. Don’t leave your gloves at home, and make sure you have the information, knowledge, and equipment you need to accomplish your goals.

8. The good stuff is not always easy. Hiking up the cinder cone is a lot of work. Sometimes the things we have to struggle for are also the most rewarding.

9. It’s more fun with friends. Share the experience. Collaborate. Bring someone along who will keep you motivated, who will push you.

10. Celebrate the success. What is better after a fabulous day on the hill than a stop at Mahogany Ridge (read: bar) to revel in the great runs and laugh at the garage sale falls? Reflect on your triumphs, take pride in your exertions, and look to your failures with humor. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the goals, we forget about the living. Keep your sight on the joy of things.